Zuni leader talks about Mt. Taylor

By Helen Davis
Cibola County Bureau

ACOMA — Leaders of the five tribes nominating Mount Taylor for listing as a Traditional Cultural Property earlier this year met with media representatives last month to commend Cultural Properties Review Committee’s reaffirmed vote make the mountain a TCP for one year.

On June 19, speakers from Hopi, Zuni, Laguna, Acoma, and the Navajo Nation gave details on tribal perspectives behind the nomination.

Norman J. Cooeyate, governor for the Zuni Tribe, said he was born into the Turkey Clan and is a child of the Dogwood-Parrot Clan. He spoke as a representative of the tribe, its membership and the non-Zuni people who choose to live within tribal lands.

The governor recapped the process the tribes followed in getting Mount Taylor, or Dewankwi Kyabachu Yalanne, listed on a temporary basis and explained the within the one year of the listing the tribes must apply for permanent listing.
Like the other speakers at the meeting, Cooeyate said the mountain was important as an origin, cultural and pilgrimage site for tribal members. Dewankwi Kyabachu Yalanne is important in maintaining Zuni cultural identity and is significant in the community’s historically rooted beliefs, practices and customs, he said. The mountain is home to sacred beings, waters, trails and shrines, he added.
“For the Zunis, Dewankwi Kyabachu Yalanne is considered to be one of the places mentioned in our oral history, contains many symbolic markers, prehistoric ruins, artifacts, ancestral remains and cultural sites, as referenced in our migration legends. The sacred cultural sites act as an umbilical cord between Zuni ancestors and the present day Zunis,” Cooeyate said.

“These properties are imbued with life and spiritual forces that have been blessed by our creator since time immemorial before their use, and once blessed, the are blessed in perpetuity. These markers and cultural sites are still visited today on a regular basis by the Zuni religious leaders, for the collection of water, plants, feathers and minerals, which are important elements in our cultural and religious activities and beliefs,” he explained.

Cooeyate stressed that the mountain has historical importance in teaching the tribes children and future generations where they came from, who they are now and where they are going in the future.

Each tribe produced information that explains why and how the mountain is historically critical in maintaining their cultural identity when requesting the listing, the governor said. He stated that the nominating tribes feel they have met at least one of the criteria for an emergency listing.

“The listing of the peak of Mount Taylor ... provides a layer of protection so that potential impacts from development projects can be eliminated or minimized. Listing on the state register does not automatically stop development projects; it does mean that consultation with the nominating tribes must occur and that adverse effects that may result from a development project must be considered.

Listing will not affect any recreational activities that New Mexicans have enjoyed on Mount Taylor,” the governor said. He added that all privately owned land within the TCP boundaries is expressly omitted from the TCP designation — unless the owner provides a written statement that the land should be included.

“By listing the peak on the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties, the tribes are in a better position to protect the peak for all to enjoy and use,” Cooeyate said.

He closed with a message for the nominating tribes and other community members: “And although we celebrate our collective success, we must continue the unified effort to ensure that Mount Taylor is protected and preserved for generations to come, for Native American and non-Native American, as well as for all living and non-living entities of Mount Taylor. E’lah’kwa, Don yadon k’koshi sunnahk’yanapdu.”