Porfirio Mirabel
Incorporation through U.S. citizenship occurred unevenly during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1919 and 1924, however, Congress enacted legislation to extend it to veterans of World War I and then to all American Indians born in the United States. While those with mindsets similar to Parker, Montezuma, and the Society of American Indians rejoiced, not everyone shared their enthusiasm. This should have come as no surprise to federal legislators, given the positions taken by many Native people during hearings conducted by a House committee in 1920. The Pueblos of San Juan, Taos, Picuris, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Nambe, and Tesuque, for instance, petitioned to be excluded from any citizenship legislation and demanded that the federal government continue its trust relationship with them. In this document, Porfirio Mirabel of Taos explains his views on the most significant issues confronting his community. Consider how he viewed the citizenship issue through the lens of land ownership and connected both to an indigenous definition of freedom. Does the exchange suggest that Mirabel and the committee were speaking the same language?41
Mr. MIRABEL (interpreted by Mr. Lorenzo Martinez).42 Gentlemen of the committee, I am here today representing my pueblo of Taos. I am a man of this age, and I have the opportunity to meet you, the committee from Washington, at this stage. I am not an old man, but age is about 65 to 70 years old. I am glad to have the chance to talk to you and put before you what is needed at my pueblo. . . . I will tell you what I know of the conditions of my pueblo of Taos. It seems to me that when we were under the control of the Spanish Government, land was given us of which we are in charge, and are now taking care of it. It seems to me that at that time I never knew that we have ever sold any part of our land that was turned over by the Spanish Government to us.43 Since that time, as I said, this land was turned over to our hands from the center of the survey, called for from the center of the cemetery by the old treaty, 3 miles that way [indicating] east, west, north, south—3 miles. . . . This land lately, not very many years ago, the Government survey came up to Taos. They surveyed the grant, but the surveyor, after it was done, we recognized that it was reduced about a mile or half a mile or a mile of what we knew as the area as it was turned over to us. . . .
The CHAIRMAN.44 The Government took that away themselves first by this survey?
Mr. MIRABEL. Yes.
The CHAIRMAN. Then, for a great many years they never had had them?
Mr. MIRABEL. No, sir. But a great many years is not away back. As I said, since then the league recognized the whole according to what the Spanish Government gave us. Then at one time there came a revolution of Americans and Mexicans, and the head men of the Pueblo of Taos were arrested and taken under authority at that time—taken to town to be prosecuted under that act of their deed. Father Martinez at that time was a priest there. He went to the pueblo and told the Indians that if he has the ability of doing so that he would take so much land if the Indians would allow it to him, and he will protect the lives of those 12 Indians who were to be hanged at that time. The Indians believed what the priest said, so they decided that they would give it, for fear of having those 12 chiefs or governors hanged. But the reverse of that was done, according to the promise to the chief. As I said, there is a certain place like a trench made. From that trench on down to a certain boundary, the entire tract, they gave to the priest.
The CHAIRMAN. Did the priest keep faith with them? Did he save those men?
Mr. MIRABEL. No, sir.
The CHAIRMAN. He let them be hanged?
Mr. MIRABEL. They were hanged.
The CHAIRMAN. And he took the property?
Mr. MIRABEL. Yes: he took the property. . . .
The CHAIRMAN. How long ago was that? . . .
Mr. MARTINEZ. It was in 1847.
The CHAIRMAN. Is that your knowledge of it?
Mr. MARTINEZ. As to the days of the month they have no knowledge. As I recognize and know it, it is in 1847.
The CHAIRMAN. If your story is true, of course, that land was never fairly taken away and there ought to be some way to turn it back to them.45
Mr. MARTINEZ. I have been acting as interpreter mostly since I came back from school. I am pretty well up in the knowledge of this account or story that I am telling.
The CHAIRMAN. You are a graduate of Carlisle?46
Mr. MARTINEZ. Not graduated, but partly. I started in according to my ability.
The CHAIRMAN. When you finished that school what grade were you in?
Mr. MARTINEZ. The fifth grade, I think it was. . . .
The CHAIRMAN. Go ahead.
Mr. MIRABEL. This is the only tract of land my ancestors have ever agreed to let it out of their hands under the provisions of the deed they had with Father Martinez. We understand it today that the said Martinez has made his deed according to his own desire and own wish. . . . The heirs of the priest hold the land now. . . .
Mr. HAYDEN.47 At Taos they are not asking the Government to buy them more land?
Mr. MARTINEZ. We wait to ask the Government about this disposed land of Martinez. It encroaches on us right inside of the grant, and that cuts off the grazing of our cattle, our horses, our animals, on the west side of the village.
Mr. HAYDEN. Then, all that the tribe would like to have is that it would like to recover from the priest, Martinez?
Mr. MIRABEL. Yes: if that could be done. It is only disposed of by the field. We would like to have that back, if possible. . . .
Mr. HERNANDEZ.48 Is it not a fact that this land question, in connection with the lands you speak of that have been in possession of other people in Taos Valley, has been thrashed out in the United States Court, and even went as far as the Supreme Court of the United States about 40 years ago?49
Mr. MIRABEL. No, sir. . . .
Mr. HERNANDEZ. So in regard to the land lying south of the pueblo, and where the town of Taos now stands, you remember that your people had a lawsuit in regard to that land, and it went to the Supreme Court of the United States, and the Supreme Court held that you had a right to sell that land and that it went out of your possession by your own free will and accord. Do you remember that?
Mr. MARTINEZ. No, sir: I do not know anything about it.
The CHAIRMAN. Is that the fact?
Mr. HERNANDEZ. Yes. In regard to this Martinez tract, I have always thought this Martinez tract had been settled by the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. I do not know about it, but that is my impression. . . .
Mr. HERNANDEZ. Is it not a fact that your people occupy now, as you claim, considerably more than 3 miles east of the pueblo?
Mr. MARTINEZ. Under our ancestors’ traditions we did. Since we came to live in the Taos it embraces all the mountains southwest to Maxwell, and down to the center of the Taos Lake. We have two lakes.
Mr. HERNANDEZ. That is about 15 miles?
Mr. MARTINEZ. . . . It seems that the reservation was made under the United States Government and it became forest land. It seems to me then, as I remember, that I was working for my people as an interpreter. Then the first surveyor came there, and he went over there and he talked to me and told me about conditions of the land and of the watershed. Then we petitioned the Government to let us have what we claimed under our traditions, under our ancestors. . . .
Mr. HERNANDEZ. As a matter of fact, you have plenty of land to cultivate, and you do cultivate enough to raise crops enough to keep yourselves, to maintain yourselves in carry on?
Mr. MARTINEZ. I will ask Mirabel to say.
Mr. MIRABEL. I know, since I have been in Taos in all my life, we are laborers and farmers and we work for the protection and maintaining of our families with our work. But in those old days we have not enough ability or intelligence to cultivate our lands and break our lands. We don’t do it that way or plan it in our climate.
Mr. HERNANDEZ. As a matter of fact, you lease considerable of the tillable land to the people who live around there, don’t you?
Mr. MARTINEZ. Yes. This leasing I have referred to many of the inspectors, or men from Washington who claim that they are from Washington. I have been always opposed to leasing the cultivated land of my people.
Mr. HERNANDEZ. But you do lease it?
Mr. MARTINEZ. Yes. There is a class of Indians when they cannot find feed for their family they do it.
Mr. HERNANDEZ. Is it a fact also, Lorenzo, that you have toward the west and north, about, I should say, 1000 acres of good vega pasture land?
Mr. MARTINEZ. Yes; right near the pueblo.
Mr. HERNANDEZ. Showing, as a matter of fact, that you know the Indians of the pueblo of Taos have considerable land now that is not under cultivation which can be cultivated if they had the means to do it with?
Mr. MARTINEZ. We had at one time land which was lying idle.
The CHAIRMAN. Just one more question. Has the witness anything further on his mind that he has not told us and that he wants to tell in one final question?
Mr. MIRABEL. Only one thing: yes. One thing I fear very much is about citizenship. There is a bill pending on that in the House or Senate.
The CHAIRMAN. What do you want done with that?
Mr. MIRABEL. All that I ask the Government of the United States is that we want to be left alone and not to be made citizens, to be as always we have been from the old time of our ancestors’ time, not molesting us any as to the citizenship. We do not want to be citizens.
Mr. CARTER.50 Is it your understanding that when you are made citizens of the United States under the bill you are speaking about that you will have to pay taxes?
Mr. MIRABEL. That is what I want to know. I am here before you gentlemen from Washington to tell you what I am not willing. I am before you, as I said, and I want to ask that we do not want to pay taxes. We do not want to be taxed.
Mr. CARTER. Did anybody tell you that this bill required you to pay taxes?
Mr. MIRABEL. I did not hear anything.
Mr. CARTER. This bill does not require you to pay taxes. The only thing the bill does is that it gives you, if you desire, the right to vote and the right to sit on a jury when the case is of your own people or tribe.
Mr. MIRABEL. I am not educated and can not very much explain about this, whether we were to pay taxes or what this bill is. I am not educated. I cannot answer directly.
Mr. CARTER. Tell him that I wrote that bill myself and I am an Indian, and I wrote it for the benefit of the Indians. . . . And that I wrote it with a view not imposing anything upon the Indians, but with a view to giving him some of the rights and liberties which he does not now have.
Mr. MARTINEZ. He said to ask you about that man. What person is this that passed this bill? Who is that man that passed this bill? Where is he from?
Mr. CARTER. I am the man that drafted the bill. I belong to the Choctaw and Chickasaw Tribe of Indians. . . . And I was undertaking to do the same thing for all the Indians which has been done for the Choctaws and Chickasaws, and I want to repeat again that this bill does not tax your land. It does not place any burden on you at all. The only thing it does is that it gives you the right to vote, if you want to. You do not, under the bill, have to vote, and you do not have to take any part in the white man’s government if you do not wish, except that when one of your men is arrested and tried for anything it gives you the right to serve on the jury and say whether he is guilty or not. That is all.
The CHAIRMAN. Knowing these facts that Mr. Carter has told you, do you still feel that you do not want the help of this bill?
Mr. MIRABEL. I do not want to be wiped out. I want to be free, as I have always been. We do not want to be citizens.
Mr. CHAIRMAN. You and your people want to be left alone, just as you are now?
Mr. MARTINEZ. What was the question?
Mr. CHAIRMAN. Do he and his people want to be left alone as they are now?
Mr. MIRABEL. No, sir: we do not want to be left alone by the United States. We want its protection always.
The CHAIRMAN. That is what you have now. You and your people do not want any change in your present condition except that would like to get little more land.
Mr. MIRABEL. Yes.