Secretary Salazar to Visit New Mexico to Mark Historic Progress in Indian Country

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – On Thursday, March 14, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn will visit New Mexico to participate in two historic signing ceremonies for Indian Country.

In the morning, Salazar and Washburn will join Governor Victor Montoya at the Pueblo of Sandia in Bernalillo. Salazar is expected to approve one of the first tribal leasing regulations issued pursuant to the newly enacted HEARTH Act. The Act, originally introduced by then-Representative Martin Heinrich (N.M. - 1st Dist.) in 2009, was signed into law by President Obama in July 2012. The law restores the authority of federally recognized American Indian tribes to control the leasing of their trust lands, thereby promoting self-determination and economic development.

In the afternoon, Salazar and Washburn will join leaders from the Pueblos of Tesuque, Nambe, Pojoaque, and San Ildefonso to finalize the Aamodt water rights settlement. The settlement was one of four water rights settlements included in legislation signed by President Obama in 2011 that will help deliver clean drinking water to tribes in New Mexico, Arizona and Montana. The implementation of the Aamodt settlement will provide for the construction of a regional water system to serve American Indian communities in Northern New Mexico, closing a chapter on one of the longest running water rights cases in the federal court system.

Event #1

Event #2

###