Letters | Paid Legislature

Paid Legislature

Editor,

New Mexico has always understood that self-governance means more than casting a ballot. It means having a seat at the table where decisions are made. For Native people in New Mexico, even securing the right to vote required a valiant struggle against disenfranchisement. That history reminds us that having a right on paper is not enough if barriers still prevent people from fully participating in our democracy.

That is the promise of a citizen legislature: a body made up of people who live in our communities, understand our struggles, and carry that understanding into the decisions that shape our state.

This November, New Mexicans have a chance to bring that promise closer to reality by voting yes on Amendment 4.

Today, our legislature asks people to serve without a salary. For many New Mexicans, the cost of that service can put public office out of reach before they ever have the opportunity to step forward. A mother raising children hours away from the State Capitol, a rancher who cannot leave livestock unattended for weeks at a time, or a teacher, tribal program director, small business owner, or community leader who depends on a regular paycheck may have the experience and commitment to serve, but not the financial flexibility to do so.

I have spent much of my life working alongside tribal leaders and educators to make sure our children and our communities are no longer an afterthought in the institutions meant to serve them. That work has taught me the same lesson again and again: who has a seat at the table matters.

We have seen major legislative victories that improve quality of life in our communities when people with firsthand knowledge of those communities help shape the solutions. When the people making decisions do not share the lived experience of the people affected by those decisions, communities get left behind. We have seen that clearly in public education, where generations of Native students were denied the opportunities and support they deserved, and it took the persistent advocacy of families and tribal leaders to demand change.

Tribal and rural communities do not lack capable, committed people who are ready to serve. But unpaid service can exact a particularly high cost in communities far from Santa Fe, where serving may mean traveling hours from home, going without a regular paycheck, and stepping away from families, jobs, and responsibilities they cannot simply put on hold.

Amendment 4 is not about rewarding the legislators serving today. It is about removing a barrier so people with a wider range of lived experiences have a real opportunity to serve. When policymakers bring firsthand understanding of the challenges their communities face, that experience can foster empathy and inform the decisions they make.

This amendment is ultimately a decision about who gets a real chance to serve. It is about whether the next generation of tribal leaders, rural New Mexicans, working parents, and community members can bring their experience and knowledge to the legislature, or whether service will remain out of reach for those who cannot afford to go without a paycheck.

I think about the young people across tribal and rural communities in this state who carry the knowledge, the responsibility, and the desire to lead their communities forward. Some of them will want to serve in the legislature one day. They should not have to choose between that service and supporting their families.

Generations before us fought to remove barriers that kept Native people from the ballot box. We should continue the work of removing barriers that keep people from fully participating in our democracy today.

People from our communities should be able to serve our communities. That is the promise of a citizen legislature, and Amendment 4 would bring us closer to fulfilling it.

This November, I am voting yes on Amendment 4, and I hope our tribal and rural communities across the state will join me.

Regis Pecos
Cochiti Pueblo, N.M.

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Sand art donation

Editor,

We have a piece of sand art that we would like to donate. The artwork measures approximately 6 feet by 6 feet and is enclosed in a wooden frame with a domed protective cover. The piece is titled, “The Hunchback, a Navajo Sand Painting” created by Fred Stevens Jr., a Navajo medicine man.

The description says that Navajo sand paintings are sacred ceremonial artworks used as altars during healing ceremonies that may include dances, chants and herbal medicines. During the ceremony, the patient sits in the center of the completed sand painting for a portion of the healing ritual. Upon completion, the patient leaves immediately and does not witness the ceremonial destruction of the painting, which is an important part of the tradition.

According to Fred Stevens Jr., the figures depicted in this painting, from left to right, are: The Hunchback, or Universe Carrier, holding his black Staff of Life; The Female Harvest Goddess, also known as the Female Yé’ii; The Half Red Man, also called the Fringe Mouth; The Soft Talker, also known as the Dawn Burier.

A Night Rainbow Goddess surrounds the four figures on three sides of the composition.

We are seeking an appropriate organization or institution that may be interested in preserving and displaying this artwork. Thank you for your consideration.

Maria Vincent
Saint Paul Public Schools
Saint Paul, Minn.

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