Crow Canyon Hosts All Indian Pueblo Council
Thirty Pueblo Leaders Attend Meeting at Crow Canyon Campus
On September 21, Crow Canyon hosted a regular monthly meeting of the All Indian Pueblo Council at the Center's campus. Crow Canyon invited the Council—made up of Pueblo leaders from 18 pueblos in New Mexico and one in Texas—to make use of the Center's meeting facilities and enjoy lunch, courtesy of the kitchen staff.
At the beginning of the meeting, Joseph Suina, a former governor of Cochiti Pueblo and a Crow Canyon Board of Trustees and Native American Advisory Group member, accompanied Crow Canyon President and CEO Deborah Gangloff in welcoming the group. At lunch, Crow Canyon Director of American Indian Initiatives Marjorie Connolly gave a talk on Crow Canyon's American Indian activities.
The Mesa Verde region is the ancestral homeland of the Pueblo people, and their culture is rich in tradition. As such, the meeting represented a historic event for the Council—a chance for Pueblo leadership to come home to the land of their ancestors where they continue to find encouragement and wisdom for the service of their people.
One of the council members remarked, "There is a lot to be taught through the sites here. We want everyone to know this is not the past. We're still here."
As described on the All Indian Pueblo Council's Web site, the mission of the Council is to "promote justice and encourage the common welfare." The group fosters the social and economic advancement and preserves and protects the common interest of Pueblo peoples. Among the many governmental, policy, and social issues that the Council addresses, cultural revitalization and language preservation are paramount.
By providing Council members with a convenient meeting place in their ancestral homeland, the Center hopes this event will mark the beginning of many more such gatherings with the Pueblo representatives.Crow Canyon encourages the use of its campus for all American Indian groups for conferences, field trips, and language and cultural preservation workshops. For more information, call the director of American Indian initiatives at 970.564.4353 (toll-free 800.422.8975, ext. 153).
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