Jemez Pueblo buys ancestral land from Girl Scouts of New Mexico
Sale of Rancho del Chaparral puts property into tribal control for outdoor recreation and education programs
Jemez Pueblo purchased more than 400 acres in the Santa Fe National Forest recently, taking ownership of the site of a 19th-century abandoned logging camp. The site had been put through a land conservancy process and was managed by the Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, which announced the sale on Oct. 8.
The $4.5 million purchase of Rancho del Chaparral, a grassland site in the Jemez Forest watershed, gives the tribe stewardship over its ancestral homeland. The Jemez people have lived there since at least 800 B.C., according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.
In a statement about the sale, Jemez Pueblo leadership said the location will have a new management plan focused on providing tribal members with an “opportunity to rediscover and explore the cultural landscape that is mentioned in the Pueblo’s tribal history.” Plans for the Pueblo at the site include outdoor recreation, education and mental health programs, retreats and community events.
Jemez Pueblo said the purchase returns the tribe back to its cultural landscape, calling the site, “a living classroom, a church, hospital and playground.
- 1.
- 2.
- 3.
We provide independent Native-focused reporting that gives our communities the context and the facts they need to make informed decisions.
