One of the things that most stood out for a young Gilbert Suazo upon reading documents pertaining to the return of Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo in 1970 was the mention that “vested water rights shall not be impaired.” It was to be prophetic for Suazo.
As he grew older and followed a career that took him from his home village to Los Alamos National Labs, he kept those thoughts in mind when he finally decided to retire and apply his knowledge and skills to his home and his tribe, Suazo recounted last Friday morning (June 30) during the dedication of the new Taos Pueblo Water Administration Department Building and Workshop on Spider Rock Road.
It was the 1990s and issues concerning water rights for Taos Pueblo were heating up. That’s when Suazo and Nelson Cordova — who, like Suazo, would wind up serving one year terms as tribal governor at different times — were tasked with heading up the effort to not only defend Taos Pueblo water rights but also to help untangle the extremely complex issues facing everyone else in the valley that benefitted from the water that flowed from streams on tribal land.
That work resulted in the Abeyta Settlement Agreement, which is essentially the master water-sharing agreement for the Taos Valley and its major water users and water rights holders. The agreement was signed in 2016. Still subject to contention by some in the valley, the effort to implement the settlement remains ongoing at Taos Pueblo. That work has resulted in reams of documentation, data collection, and continued interaction. To house this material and maintain offices for officials involved in various issues, the tribe needed a place to call home for all this material, officials, and workers.
That’s how the Taos Pueblo Water Administration Department Office Building and Shop came about. So passionately did the department’s director, Daniel Suazo, feel about the work being done on the site that he invited the tribe’s cacique Paul Martinez, and the Rev. Fr. Peter Mgendwa, a Roman Catholic priest from Our Lady of Guadalupe parish, to offer spiritual blessings, followed by a song and drumming by tribal councilmen.
Daniel Suazo is the son of tribal elder Gilbert Suazo. Cordova explained that after a comprehensive search of applicants for the director’s job, it fell to him to make the decision. He said he chose the younger Suazo because of his dedication and commitment, as demonstrated in the tribe’s traditional duties and his personal knowledge of his father’s work in the water rights arena.
Invited to the dedication ceremonies were Myron Armijo, Native American tribal liaison with the Office of the State Engineer, and representatives of the Hartman and Majewski Design Group and Native-owned Rock Gap Engineering which oversaw the building’s construction. Also invited were settling parties in the Abeyta Agreement: the Town of Taos, Taos Valley Acequia Association, El Prado Water and Sanitation, and others in the community.
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