Teresa Leger Fernandez: “I, too, rise in opposition to amendment No. 86. As noted, this amendment would roll back protections for Federal lands…”

“I, too, rise in opposition to amendment No. 86. As noted, this amendment would roll back protections for Federal lands and Federal lands only within a 10-mile area around the World Heritage Site, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, in New Mexico, in my district, and only from new oil and gas drilling. I stand here on the second day of Native American Heritage Month, and what we are doing on the second day of Native American Heritage Month is not recognizing, honoring, and protecting Native American heritage. Instead, what this amendment is doing is destroying Native American heritage. It is destroying the ability of Native Americans who hold these lands and these sites sacred to continue to practice their spiritual and religious beliefs. Let's remember that what you are doing is undermining the ability of people to practice their historic spiritual and religious beliefs because not only is Chaco County a World Heritage Site, but it remains to this day a place of cultural and religious significance to the descendants of the Greater Chaco region. We need to remember that Chaco Canyon is unique. Between A.D. 900 and 1150, Chaco was the heart of ceremonial, trade, and political activity for the Ancestral Puebloans. The sweeping ceremonial center you need to go visit is unlike anything constructed before or since. However, for the Native Americans who come from this area, Chaco is not an old place.…”