All Pueblo Council of Governors, Santa Fe Mayor Gonzales, Archbishop Wester Agree to Historic Meeting

Conversation around Entrada, Recognition of History Continues

Santa Fe, NM –This morning, at the 2nd Annual Indigenous Peoples Day Celebration on the Santa Fe Plaza, Mayor Javier M. Gonzales joined Archbishop John Wester and representatives of the All Pueblo Council of Governors to announce a historic agreement, in response to a formal resolution of the All Pueblo Council of Governors, to meet and work toward collaboration and healing in the way Santa Fe recognizes and celebrates its unique relationship with history.

The meeting is the result of a resolution (below), passed unanimously by the 20-member All Pueblo Council of Governors, calling for a meeting “to engage in a respectful and principled deliberative dialogue guided by our core values to address these matters and work to define a process for genuine reconciliation to heal the wounds of the past and celebrate the beauty of our respective cultures, traditions and peoples.”

Mayor Gonzales said, “For much of the past several years, we’ve been engaged in a conversation about race and history, driven by public protests, private conversations with Pueblo, and Hispanic community leaders, policy initiatives including the creation of Indigenous Peoples Day and the review of city-supported monuments and events, and public calls for action.”

He added, “This formal resolution is a critical and historic step forward, and necessary if we want to see our community continue to move forward and grow stronger through this process.”

It comes after a year of private outreach between the parties building toward a more formal process, including a formal visit from City officials to the Pueblo of Tesuque.

Background Document Attached: All Pueblo Council of Governors Resolution Calling for a Meeting.