All Pueblo Council of Governors Resolution No. APCG 2024

WHEREAS, the All Pueblo Council of Governors (APCG) is comprised of the Pueblos of Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh, Picuris, Pojoaque, San Felipe, San Ildefonso, Sandia, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, Zia, and Zuni and one Pueblo in Texas, Ysleta del Sur, each having the sovereign authority to govern their own affairs; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of the APCG is to advocate, foster, protect, and encourage the social, cultural, and natural resources, and educational advancement of Pueblo people; and

WHEREAS, St. Catherine’s Indian School was founded in 1887 by Katharine Drexel for the education of children from Pueblo and Tribal communities and fulfilled that vision of educating generations of children for over 111 years before graduating its last class and closing its doors in 1998; and

WHEREAS, Saint Katharine Drexel founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to serve Indian and African-American children and spent her personal wealth funding many schools in five states, among them, St. Catherine’s Indian School. Her life’s work resulted in her canonization on October 1, 2000, recognizing a lifetime of service to the most vulnerable and marginalized people and becoming only the second American woman to become a saint; and

WHEREAS, the All Indian Pueblo Council previously passed a Resolution in 1987, to express its collective gratitude to the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament to commemorate the centennial celebration of the legacy of St. Catherine’s Indian School; and

WHEREAS, the 1987 Resolution is prominently displayed at the Mother House in Trevose, Pennsylvania reflecting the mutual respect accorded this coveted relationship to honor the treasured gift of the countless numbers of young people educated at St. Catherine’s who became lifetime public servants and leaders in our respective communities; and

WHEREAS, following the closure in 1998, the property was placed on the State Historic Preservation Office’s Register of Cultural Properties in 2002 and in 2011, the State Cultural Properties Review Committee designated the property as part of a Historic District; and

WHEREAS, in 2016, after several failed efforts by private developers, the Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority (SFCHA) acquired the St. Catherine’s property, recognizing both the importance of sustaining its historic significance as well as its potential value as an income-generating investment that would enable it to pursue its mission of creating and sustaining safe, decent and affordable housing throughout northern New Mexico; and

WHEREAS, since acquiring the property, SFCHA has considered how best to move forward with its development of this hallowed ground to honor the legacy of St. Katharine Drexel, and the lived experiences of those lives impacted at St. Catherine’s Indian School while pursuing an appropriate development of the property; and

WHEREAS, the SFCHA adopted Resolution 2024-16 creating the St. Catherine’s Project Tribal Advisory Committee, comprised of prominent and well-respected alumni from Tribal communities who through personal testimony have shared the reverence they hold for this hallowed ground defined by generations including their own lived educational and life molding experiences at St. Catherine’s to assist in and enhance SFCHA’s planning process; and 

WHEREAS, through this inclusive dialogue, the Tribal Advisory Committee members have unanimously affirmed that certain buildings designated as historic preservation property be utilized to preserve and share the history and the enormity of its profound and significant contributions to the Pueblos, Tribes and other northern communities; and

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the All Pueblo Council of Governors support the proposed conceptual framework of development, attached hereto as Exhibit A, by the SFCHA to include the historic preservation of certain buildings of the St. Catherine’s Indian School property.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the All Pueblo Council of Governors expresses its gratitude to the Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority for its respect and foresight to reach out to our community members in their consideration to preserve a place of reverence in its history and prominence as an education institution contributing to molding the lives of so many of our people and expresses appreciation to our tribal community members guiding this dialogue and for their vision and bringing this matter forward to our attention.