Pueblo of Tesuque

Location

Taytsugeh Oweenge, or “village of the narrow place of the cottonwood trees,” is a small Tewa-speaking Pueblo located ten miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico that has been inhabited since 1200 A.D. The Tesuque people played an important role in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, with two of its members acting as messengers who spread news of the uprising throughout the territory.

Tesuque has a great reverence for its traditions and continues to practice ancient customs despite pressures from other cultures. Farming and pottery production are the two remaining primary occupations for several residents of the pueblo. Today, more and more residents of the pueblo find employment in Santa Fe and Los Alamos. Tesuque is one of the most conservative and traditional of all pueblos. It spans 26 square miles of pinion covered hills approximately nine miles north of Santa Fe, New Mexico.

History of TRMTC Involvement

Tesuque Pueblo joined TRMTC in 2019, initially under the pueblo's Department of Environment and Natural Resources. With the creation of its Emergency Management Department (EMD) in 2021, TRMTC responsibilities were transferred to the EMD staff, who are responsible for overseeing the Los Alamos National Laboratory Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Program for the monitoring of low level transuranic radioactive waste transportation. Tesuque Pueblo is along the transport route of said waste to WIPP in Carlsbad, New Mexico. The EMD oversees the Tesuque Pueblo Emergency Operations Plan and coordinates all aspects for planning and responding to emergencies, including radioactive accidents.

Historically, Tesuque Pueblo was impacted with the creation of the Manhattan Project by the United States as a direct response to World War II, thus establishing the Los Alamos Laboratory or Project Y, on January 1, 1943, now the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Project Y led to the creation of the nuclear weapons known as the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” that were denotated above Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively, bringing an end to WWII.

Since January 1, 1943, the people of Tesuque Pueblo, its farmland, aboriginal and territorial land, mountains, flora and fauna, air, and water have been impacted by the handling of radioactive materials at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Since that time, our people have always been concerned about the impacts to our environment and health, and we are proactively working to address all past, present, and future issues related to the radioactive materials transported through our tribal lands.

Primary TRMTC Contacts

• Robert Frenier: Emergency Management Director, robert.frenier@pueblooftesuque.org, 505.365.3227

• Roman Duran: Emergency Management Coordinator, rduran@pueblooftesuque.org, 505.571.7071