New Mexico’s congressional delegation joined with Pueblo leaders Wednesday to demand the Trump administration maintain protections against oil and gas development on federal lands surrounding Chaco Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage Site threatened by potential drilling and extraction.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, Rep. Melanie Stansbury, Sen. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Gabe Vasquez stood with governors and lieutenant governors from eight Pueblos to call for permanent protection of the sacred landscape.
The appeal comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order directing federal agencies to review and potentially revoke actions that hinder energy and mining development.
“A molecule of gas is the same wherever it comes from, but the remnants of the kivas, the buildings, the plazas — and the ceramics, bone tools, and other artifacts tell us the story of Chaco Canyon,” Leger Fernández said. “Each of those sites, if it is lost to a bulldozer, can never be replaced.”
The Chaco Culture National Historical Park contains more than 4,700 known archaeological sites within a 10-mile radius that could be destroyed by drilling operations, according to the delegation.
Acoma Pueblo Gov. Charles Riley said Pueblo leaders traveled to Washington “united as one to ensure that the protections for one of our most sacred places are kept in place.”
Several Pueblo leaders described their ancestral and spiritual connections to Chaco Canyon during the news conference.
“We all trace our lineage to Chaco, and it remains today an active, cultural site,” said Cochiti Pueblo Lt. Gov. Jeff Suina. “We go there for prayer and enlightenment.”
Picuris Pueblo Gov. Wayne Yazza Jr. said DNA studies have confirmed oral traditions passed down through generations about his people’s origins at Chaco.
Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who was not present but sponsors companion legislation in the Senate, previously passed House legislation to protect Chaco Canyon in 2019.
In April, Leger Fernández reintroduced the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act in the House while Luján introduced companion legislation in the Senate to permanently protect the greater Chaco region.
Heinrich called on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to visit the site before making decisions about its future, similar to a visit made by former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt.
“This is not about the past; it is about the generations to come,” Heinrich said.