A view of Black Mesa at San Ildefonso Pueblo in New Mexico. Photo by Em-jay-es via Wikipedia
Non-Indian homeowners filed suit against the Obama administration on Tuesday, accusing the Bureau of Indian Affairs of trying to deny them access to their property. In December 2013, the BIA informed Santa Fe County that it was trespassing on the reservation of San Ildefonso Pueblo. The agency asked for negotiations to resolve rights-of-way for several roads deemed to be illegal. The record doesn't indicate the status of talks. But a group called Northern New Mexicans Protecting Land, Water and Rights claims it already has the right to use the roads under the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
TRESPASS DISPUTE: County Road 84, 84A, 84B, 85C, 85D and Sandy Way are illegally crossing tribal land, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
"The roads in question offer access to more than 1000 non-Native residents of the communities of El Rancho and Jaconita and have existed for centuries to access private land claims within the San Ildefonso Pueblo Land Grant," the group wrote in a letter that was published in The Los Alamos Daily Post. "Since the letter of trespass was issued by the BIA, private property owners have been unable to reliably secure title insurance policies without exceptions for ingress/egress, effectively barring homeowners from buying, selling and refinancing their private properties. The roads are located on the eastern side of San Ildefonso Pueblo. It appears the only way to get in and out is to cross the reservation. The case is Northern New Mexicans Protecting Land, Water and Rights v. US. Get the Story:
Homeowners Worry About Access Via Rez (Courthouse News Service 7/2)
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