Raúl Grijalva: “I thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez) for the time and to Ranking Member Westerman. I am proud…”

“I thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez) for the time and to Ranking Member Westerman. I am proud to represent the Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Arizona's Third District. We both call southern Arizona our home. The Yaqui people are an integral and historic part of the fiber of southern Arizona, reflecting our history, our cultures, and our people. H.R. 4881, the Old Pascua Community Land Acquisition Act, will take a 30-acre parcel of land into trust for the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the area known locally and to the Tribe as Old Pascua community. As the gentlewoman from New Mexico outlined in her comments, as well as the ranking member, this was the initial focal point for the Yaqui people as they fled persecution. While some families relocated to this new land base, many families remained in the Pascua Village community, known as Old Pascua. At the time in 1921, it was an isolated area outside the community and outside of Tucson, but things have grown out around them. I think the Yaqui community in Tucson, Arizona, considers Old Pascua not only the formally recognized area for the community but also a sacred site for the Tribe. Before receiving Federal recognition and a formal reservation south of Tucson, many Pascua Yaqui families called Old Pascua in Tucson their home.…”