The Fort Sill Apache Reservation in southern New Mexico. Photo © Fort Sill Apache Tribe.

The New Mexico Supreme Court ordered Gov. Susana Martinez (R) to recognize the Fort Sill Apache Tribe.

Martinez must invite the tribe to the annual state-tribal summit, add the tribe to the Indian Affairs Department’s contact list and consult with the tribe under state law. The decision came after a hearing on Monday morning in Santa Fe, the state capitol.

"Today we jumped a major hurdle in our path to returning to our home," Chairman Jeff Haozous said in a press release. "We have been fighting to return to New Mexico since our ancestors were forcibly removed from these lands in 1886 and today we are finally being welcomed home," he added.

The tribe's ancestors lived in southern New Mexico before being taken as prisoners of war and eventually forced to live in Oklahoma. The tribe has slowly taken steps to return home and has a 30-acre reservation in its ancestral territory.

Martinez, who hails from the southern part of the state, had been refusing to treat the tribe as an equal. Her spokesperson continued to dispute the tribe's legitimacy even after the court ruled against her.

“The governor still believes that the Legislature intended taxpayer-funded programs to benefit residents of New Mexico, not Oklahoma,” the spokesperson told The Albuquerque Journal.

Get the Story:
Fort Sill ruled a N.M. state tribe (AP 4/14)
State told to recognize Fort Sill Apaches (The Albuquerque Journal 4/15)
High court: State must recognize Fort Sill Apaches (The Santa Fe New Mexican 4/15)

Related Stories:
Jeff Haozous: Fort Sill Apache Tribe deserves say in New Mexico (4/14)
Fort Sill Apache Tribe awaits hearing over status in New Mexico (03/27)
Fort Sill Apache Tribe to mark 100 years of freedom in Oklahoma (3/5)
Editorial: Fort Sill Apache Tribe deserves welcome in New Mexico (3/3)
Fort Sill Apache Tribe seeking seat at the table in New Mexico (2/25)
Apache tribes celebrate 100 years of freedom for war prisoner (4/8)