Chaco Canyon advocacy takes flight as Pueblo leaders head to D.C.
Pojoaque Pueblo Gov. Jenelle Roybal joined a Sept. 14 flight over Chaco Culture National Historical Park, where she said oil and gas development threatens sacred sites. “That land was really torn up — it’s just roads everywhere, that land’s never going to go back to the way it was,” Roybal was quoted in Source NM as saying. The flight, organized by LightHawk and the Native Land Institute, marked the start of a week of advocacy as at least 10 Pueblo governors prepare to meet with Congress in Washington, D.C.
In April, members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation reintroduced legislation to permanently ban oil and gas development within 10 miles of Chaco. A competing Republican-backed bill and the Trump administration’s vow to “unleash” energy development threaten that effort, according to the delegation’s June letter. Roybal said protecting Chaco is essential for sovereignty and maintaining sacred connections to the land.
- 1.SourceNM.
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