Garcia Richard defends repatriating ancestral lands in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES — Public Lands Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard hosted a community meeting Friday night as she contemplates a possible tribal land exchange that has generated local rumors and opposition.

It would be the third exchange to restore ancestral territory since Garcia Richard took office in 2019, following exchanges with the Santa Ana Pueblo and Fort Sill-Chiricahua-Warm Springs Apache tribe.

“The 13 million acres of land that was deeded over to the state from the federal government is stolen land,” Garcia Richard said to scattered applause and boos in Las Cruces. “It is ancestral homeland of 23 pueblos, tribes and nations in this state. … Something I have done is to prioritize tribal land exchanges.”

An informal public meeting hosted by the State Land Office and leadership of the Mescalero Apache Tribe drew an overflow crowd to the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum.

The purpose of the meeting was to answer questions and gather feedback about a proposed land swap that would deliver approximately 330 acres of undeveloped state trust land in east Las Cruces to tribal ownership.

The first of two scheduled meetings drew hundreds of people who packed the auditorium and flowed into the hallway outside. A second meeting, scheduled for Nov. 24, may be rescheduled, organizers said, in order to book a larger room.

Garcia Richard said the ultimate decision on whether to proceed with a swap ultimately fell to her. “My decision, whatever it is, has to be informed,” she said, “and I want it to be informed by the people that are going to be impacted directly, and that is you all.”

The majority of people who lined up to speak opposed any transfer that might lead to development of the parcel located south of Tortugas Mountain.

If it proceeds, the exchange would transfer the parcel to the tribe, but it would not become part of the Mescalero Apache reservation until the completion of a yearslong federal process. In the meantime, the land would be subject to local zoning and land use rules.

For the exchange, the tribe would be required to purchase land of equivalent appraised value and trade it with the State Land Office. As a result, the tribe said it would acquire ancestral land supporting plant species important to their cultural traditions; and Garcia Richard said the state would acquire land it could lease for revenue that benefits public schools, hospitals and other beneficiaries of the state trust.

“This is actually part of where we roamed back in the day,” tribal council president Thora Walsh-Padilla said in her introduction, describing the nomadic movements and seasonal diet of the tribe. “A lot of our traditional and historic plants that we used do not grow in Mescalero.”

A few of those who took the mic asked questions about what criteria would guide the commissioner’s decision, how a land swap would work and what guardrails were in place for potential development.

A member of Tortugas Pueblo asked about potential impacts to the Tortugas Mountain, also known as “A” Mountain, that is both a sacred site and a popular day-hike attraction. A few speakers expressed support for the transaction if it helped preserve Indigenous history and culture.

The most vocal sentiment in the room, however — expressed at the microphone and through heckles and grumbling throughout the audience — was suspicion about the process and the tribe’s intentions, following rumors the tribe might build a casino or large performance venue on the land.

Walsh-Padilla insisted the tribe had no definite plans, an answer that frustrated questioners. Previously, she had acknowledged via the tribe’s Facebook page that the land could be used to host cultural events and that an amphitheater had been suggested by a local contractor, but no projects had been decided upon.

She has also downplayed the likelihood of a casino without absolutely ruling it out. In a video address, she said reopening the tribe’s 2015 gaming compact to seek approval for another casino was not a desirable option, and at Friday’s meeting she suggested a gaming facility, even if it were approved and built, would compete with the Inn of the Mountain Gods casino and resort, operated on the Mescalero reservation in Otero County.

The land itself comprises rough and uneven terrain and an active arroyo, suggesting that any large development on the property would require extensive remediation. While there are utilities nearby, the current roads are not suited for commercial traffic.

“We don’t have definite plans, and I’m sorry I can’t share some kind of fully hatched design or proposal. We don’t have that,” Walsh-Padilla said. “Our initial intent is to repatriate some of our ancestral lands.”

Some participants pushed back against the concept of repatriation, as when one property owner looked squarely at Walsh-Padilla and declared, “We didn’t steal directly from you.” Another questioner drew applause when she complained that the tribe was offering “non-answers” to questions about intended land use. Neighboring homeowners presented worries about traffic, noise, area construction and changes to stormwater flows and disturbances to area livestock.

State Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces, who lives in the Las Alturas neighborhood close to the land of interest, said her constituents were up in arms about any large development drawing traffic into established neighborhoods.

“If you’re telling us we want to have a place to have ceremonies, and a place to go and pray and a place to go pick native plants, I think all of my neighbors would say we would like you to have that,” Gallegos said. “But if you say we want to start establishing for a casino, I think you’re going to get a lot of pushback.”

Gallegos also pointed out that plans could evolve as tribal council leadership changes with future elections, and that another land commissioner will be elected in 2026. Garcia Richard, a Democrat, is nearing the end of her second term and is barred from running again. Last month, she suspended a campaign for lieutenant governor.

Rosemary Kirby, a lifelong resident of Tortugas Pueblo, addressed the heckling and acrimony of the meeting, telling Walsh-Padilla, “I apologize for some of these people that are being rude and are not honoring the traditional way, our way, because many of them are not aware that we are still here.”