Pueblo of Santa Ana Announces the Reacquisition and Preservation of its Ancestorial Land at Fee to Trust Signing Ceremony
Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M. – June 12, 2024 – The Pueblo of Santa Ana and the Bureau of Indian
Affairs Southwest Regional Office announce today the official signing into trust for Tamaya
Kwii Kee Nee Puu, 60,000 acres of ancestral land, formerly known as the King Alamo Ranch, on
the Pueblo of Santa Ana. The land holds a deep traditional importance to the Pueblo.
“The Pueblo of Santa Ana is thrilled to reacquire our ancestorial land and take stewardship of the
property to preserve our historical and cultural activities,” said Santa Ana Pueblo Governor
Myron Armijo. “The 60,000 acres is being signed into a trust to support our posterity and the
future generations of our Pueblo”
The signing into trust signifies legal ownership and stewardship of the land to preserve the
Pueblo’s ancestry and culture. These lands represent ancestral farming and hunting grounds of
the Tamayame people, later used for traditional grazing following the introduction of domestic
livestock by Spanish colonists. The 60,000 acres being signed into trust is bordered on the west
side by Rio Puerco and the Pueblo of Laguna, on the east by Rio Rancho Estates, on the north
side by the Pueblo of Zia, and on the south by private lands.
The official fee to trust signing ceremony took place today in the Prairie Star Restaurant on the
Santa Ana Pueblo and included speakers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, PNM, legal
representatives associated with the trust, and Pueblo of Santa Ana government officials.
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About the Pueblo of Santa Ana
The Pueblo of Santa Ana is a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans. As a native
sovereign nation, it has executive, legislative and judicial governmental power to govern and
protect its members’ health, safety and welfare, and to preserve its culture and history. Since the
early 1980s, the Pueblo of Santa Ana has actively pursued a strategy of developing tribal
enterprises recognizing economic independence as crucial to maintaining and safeguarding its
traditional concepts and values. Its native community and enterprises provide jobs for its tribal
members, but also generates economic activity for non-natives benefiting Sandoval and
Bernalillo Counties in New Mexico.
About the Bureau of Indian Affairs
At 200 years old, the Bureau of Indian Affairs is the oldest bureau in the Department of the
Interior. Our mission is to enhance the quality of life, promote economic opportunities, and to
carry out the federal responsibilities entrusted to us to protect and improve the trust assets of
American Indians and Alaska Natives. We accomplish this either directly through contracts or
compact agreements
The Santa Ana Pueblo is situated in north-central New Mexico, approximately 18 miles north of Albuquerque. It’s north of the town of Bernalillo and covers about 73,000 acres of land along the Rio Grande. The Pueblo has a rich history, with its people occupying the current site since at least the late 1500s.
