All-Pueblo Council
The All-Pueblo Council was formed in November 1922 as a response to the proposed Bursum Bill, which sought to confirm land titles for non-Pueblo claimants and place Pueblo water rights under state jurisdiction. This development arose from a long history of land disputes involving Pueblo Indians, Hispanic settlers, and white settlers in New Mexico. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously ruled that Pueblo Indians were wards of the government, limiting their ability to sell their lands. Faced with the potential loss of their communal lands and cultural identity, the Pueblo delegates convened at Santo Domingo to address the threat posed by the Bursum Bill. They drafted a significant appeal to the American public, highlighting the dangers that the legislation posed to their way of life. The Council's efforts, alongside support from sympathetic groups and individuals, helped to galvanize public opposition, ultimately leading to the defeat of the Bursum Bill in Congress. In response to the ongoing land issues, the Public Lands Act was passed in 1923, which established a board to assess the status and boundaries of Pueblo lands. This historical moment underscores the resilience of the Pueblo peoples in advocating for their rights and preserving their cultural heritage.
All-Pueblo Council
Date: Established 1922
Tribes affected: Pueblo tribes
Significance: The All-Pueblo Council defended the integrity of Pueblo lands, communal life, and tribal traditions in the face of federal legislation threatening Pueblo reservation lands
The All-Pueblo Council was established in response to the proposed Bursum Bill of 1922. This legislation resulted from decades of controversy over land that had been purchased since 1848 by Hispanic and white settlers from the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico. In 1913, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the Sandoval case that the Pueblo Indians came under federal jurisdiction as wards of the government and therefore did not have the authority to sell their lands. Occasional violence broke out as Pueblos challenged the right of white settlers to be on former Pueblo lands. In 1922, Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, a former New Mexico senator, asked New Mexico senator Holm O. Bursum to introduce legislation to confirm the land titles of all non-Pueblo claimants and place Pueblo water rights under the jurisdiction of the state courts. The intention of Fall and Bursum was to settle the controversy over Pueblo lands in favor of Hispanic and white settlers and to prevent further violence.
Sympathetic whites, including the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, artists from Santa Fe and Taos, and sociologist John Collier, organized a movement to stop the Bursum Bill. After Collier alerted the Pueblos to the danger of the bill, they responded by calling an All-Pueblo Council, which met on November 5, 1922, at Santo Domingo. The 121 delegates drafted “An Appeal by the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico to the People of the United States.” They claimed that the Bursum Bill would destroy their communal life, land, customs, and traditions. A delegation from the All-Pueblo Council went with Collier to Washington, D.C., to testify before the Senate Committee on Public Lands. The Bursum Bill was defeated in Congress as a result of the public outcry against it. In 1923, a compromise bill, the Public Lands Act, was passed; it empowered a board to determine the status and boundaries of Pueblo lands.