SANTA FE, N.M.—The New Mexico State Capitol was abuzz with activity Feb. 13 as tribal citizens and their leaders gathered to celebrate Indian Day.
"The Indian community really needs the unity right now," Edward Calabaza, the master of ceremonies for Indian Day and spokesman for the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs, said. "They need a show of strength to let lawmakers — not only here but in the nation's capital and elsewhere — know that we are united and that we do need the help and that we want the American government to honor its commitments that they promised to take care of."
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson was on hand to speak to the hundreds of Native Americans who filled the capitol rotunda and its halls. He focused on his administration's universal health-care initiative for New Mexico, home to 22 tribes and nearly 192,000 Native people who comprise 9.8 percent of the state population.
"There is a very strong Native American component in our bill because we feel that the federal government has not done its job with health service, especially for Native Americans," Richardson said.
Special honoree for the day was the oldest Santa Clara Pueblo citizen, 102-year-old Gregorita Chavarria.
"She is so beautiful that she deserves not just my thanks but the thanks of all of us," Richardson said. He walked up to Chavarria, who was sitting in a wheelchair, and shook her hand. Applause rang through the rotunda.
In her declining health she wanted the younger generation to listen to their elders and respect their tribal traditions, she said, adding that she is thankful to have lived this long.
The event was host to many speakers from Indian Country, including Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly and National Congress of the American Indians President Joe Garcia.
Natives in New Mexico are citizens of the state and deserving of the same care from the state, and tribal leaders are there to work with the state and ensure that their people are taken care of by both, said Garcia, who is also the governor of northern New Mexico's Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.
"I think working together as an Indian nation and the state, sovereign to sovereign, has been the trick of it all," Garcia said. "So I applaud all the tribal leaders."
High school and college students perused the information available at more than 50 booths; company executives, employees and interns mingled, talking business and governmental plans.
"A big part of my purpose here is networking," Laurence Brown, government relations manager for Sandia National Laboratories, said.
Brown felt good to be around so many Native leaders and took the chance to talk with them about their "priorities," he said.
Outside the rotunda and around it, people stood in groups and talked about issues and government. There were a lot of introductions, hand-shaking and hugs among the leaders in their business suits and ties.
The well-being of the Native communities is "being addressed and I think that they're coming to the forefront now," Calabaza, the master of ceremonies, said. "By those standards I would say that Indian Day is a success."