Shirley Romero Otero

Last updated
Shirley Romero Otero
Born1955
San Pablo, Colorado
Occupation(s)Public educator and organizer
OrganizationLand Rights Council

Shirley Romero Otero (born 1955) is a Chicana activist who co-founded the Land Rights Council in 1977 to regain the rights for heirs of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. She is an educator and leader in the San Luis Valley region. She is the director of the Move Mountains Youth Project and sits on the board of directors of the Acequia Institute. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Shirley Romero was born in 1955 in San Pablo, Colorado. Her parents were Moises and Esmeralda Olivas Romero, and she had four siblings. [1] She traces her ancestry back to Mexican settlers from the mid-1800s, [3] with Spanish and Jicarilla Apache ancestry. [4]

Romero Otero taught for over 28 years in Grand Junction and San Luis. She taught Ethnic Studies, and coordinated with the La Raza Youth Leadership Conference. She is the leader of the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition and a member of the Latino Advisory Committee for the Colorado Commission on Higher Education. [2]

Her work with Move Mountains Youth Project is intended to reconnect local youth with the land where their ancestors farmed and "reawaken that cultural memory." [4] [5]

La Sierra Land Rights

The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, over 1 million acres of land in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, was awarded by the New Mexican government to the Beaubien family in 1843. Under Spanish and Mexican law, the original grant set aside common land for use by the entire community. [6] In 1848, the area was incorporated into the United States with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In 1864, Beaubien's wife sold the grant area to Colorado Territorial Governor William Gilpin. The sale document obligated Gilpin and his partners to respect the settlers' property and communal rights. In 1868, Gilpin divided the grant area into two ranches: the Trinchera Estate in the north and the Costilla Estate in the South. Gilpin and subsequent owners sold pieces of the grant area to private investors. [7] [8]

For nearly 100 years, the descendants of the Hispanic settlers continued to have communal rights to the use of much of the land although the legal ownership of the land passed through various hands. The Hispanic descendants generally held title to the lands they used for irrigated agriculture, but exerted their rights to access larger properties, usually owned by Anglos, for grazing, timber, and other uses. In 1960, that situation changed when a North Carolina lumberman named John T. (Jack) Taylor purchased 77 thousand acres (310 km2) of the former Costilla Estate which became known as the Taylor Ranch. The deed provided that the local people had the right for pasture, wood, and lumber on Taylor's land. In 1963, however, Taylor began to fence the ranch, cutting off the access of the nearby residents. Protests followed with some violence. [9]

The conflict between Taylor and the residents was dubbed the 'Costilla County Range War' by the press. [6] Taylor filed suit on the "inferior Mexicans" who "trespassed" on "his" mountain, with the U.S. District Court in Denver, J.T. Taylor vs. Pablita Jacquez, et. al. [6]

In 1977, Romero Otero co-founded the Land Rights Council (LRC) in Chama, Colorado and was elected president. [10] The LRC formed to reestablish traditional "usufructory rights" and allow local people to access the land. [6]

In 1981, LRC filed a class-action lawsuit, Rael v. Taylor, for the 109 plaintiffs on behalf of over 1000 heirs. Litigation lasted for over 21 years before 2002, when the Colorado Supreme Court found the case in the LRC's favor. In November 2018, the Colorado Court of Appeals permanently reaffirmed the rights of Chicano and Mexican descendants to use the land in La Sierra. [6] [11]

However, the LRC's work is not finished. They continue legal battles with the current owner, William Harrison, who purchased the Cielo Vista Ranch in 2018 for $105 million. Despite three Supreme Court affirmations, San Luis residents are still being restricted from using the land. [12]

Personal life

Romero Otero is the mother of four children, and has two grandchildren. [2]

Recognition

In 2018, Romero Otero received a Lifetime Achievement award from the state of New Mexico for her leadership in the Land Grant struggle. [13]

In 2021, she was honored with the César Chávez Latino Leadership Hall of Fame Award from the Denver Public Library. [14]

In 2022, she was honored as a Corn Mother. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Luis Valley</span> High-altitude basin in Colorado and New Mexico in the United States

The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately 122 miles (196 km) long and 74 miles (119 km) wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It contains 6 counties and portions of 3 others. It is an extensive high-elevation depositional basin of approximately 8,000 square miles (21,000 km2) with an average elevation of 7,664 feet (2,336 m) above sea level. The valley is a section of the Rio Grande Rift and is drained to the south by the Rio Grande, which rises in the San Juan Mountains to the west of the valley and flows south into New Mexico. The San Luis Valley has a cold desert climate but has substantial water resources from the Rio Grande and groundwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Costilla County, Colorado</span> County in Colorado, United States

Costilla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,499. The county seat is San Luis, the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Luis, Colorado</span> Town in Colorado, United States

San Luis is a statutory town that is the county seat and the most populous town of Costilla County, Colorado, United States. Formerly known as San Luis de la Culebra, it is the oldest continuously occupied town in Colorado. The population was 598 at the 2020 census.

Sangre de Cristo can refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangre de Cristo Mountains</span> Mountain range in Colorado and New Mexico, United States

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the southernmost subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountains run from Poncha Pass in South-Central Colorado, trending southeast and south, ending at Glorieta Pass, southeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The mountains contain a number of fourteen thousand foot peaks in the Colorado portion, as well as several peaks in New Mexico which are over thirteen thousand feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicano Movement</span> Social and political movement combating racism in the United States

The Chicano Movement, also referred to as El Movimiento, was a social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano/a identity and worldview that combated structural racism, encouraged cultural revitalization, and achieved community empowerment by rejecting assimilation. Chicanos also expressed solidarity and defined their culture through the development of Chicano art during El Movimiento, and stood firm in preserving their religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culebra Peak</span> Mountain in Colorado, United States

Culebra Peak is the highest summit of the Culebra Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,053-foot (4,283 m) fourteener is located on private land, 14.2 miles (22.8 km) east-southeast of San Luis in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. Culebra Peak is the southernmost fourteener in the range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chama, Colorado</span> Unincorporated community in State of Colorado, United States

Chama is an unincorporated community and U.S. Post Office in Costilla County, Colorado, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Acacio, Colorado</span> Census Designated Place in Colorado, United States

San Acacio is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The population of the San Acacio CDP was 56 at the 2020 United States census. The Sanford post office serves San Acacio postal addresses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangre de Cristo Ranches, Colorado</span> Unincorporated community in Colorado, United States

Sangre de Cristo Ranches is an unincorporated community located near Fort Garland in Costilla County, Colorado, United States. The U.S. Post Office at Fort Garland serves Sangre de Cristo Ranches postal addresses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles H. Beaubien</span> American rancher

Charles H. Beaubien, also known as Alexis Beaubien, Don Carlos Beaubien and Charles Trotier, was a Canadian-born American fur trader who was one of two investors who owned 2,700,000 acres (11,000 km2) of northeastern New Mexico and southeastern Colorado in the Beaubien-Miranda and Sangre de Cristo Land Grants. He served for a time on the New Mexico Territorial Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area</span> United States National Heritage Area in Colorado

Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Colorado. The heritage area includes the San Luis Valley and portions of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The region combines influences of Anglo-American, Hispano-American and Native American influences. It also includes portions of the upper Rio Grande valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Culebra (Colorado)</span> River in Colorado, United States

Rio Culebra is a river or creek in Costilla County, Colorado. The Rio Culebra rises in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and is 48 km (30 mi) long. It empties into the Rio Grande west of the town of San Luis. The region around San Luis features extensive agriculture made possible by irrigation water from the river. Sometimes called the "Culebra Basin" this area is known for the extensive irrigation canals called acequias built by its Hispanic settlers in the 19th century and still in use in the 21st century

Hispanic and Latino Coloradans are residents of the state of Colorado who are of Hispanic or Latino ancestry. As of 2020, Hispanics and Latinos of any race made up 21% of the state's population, or 1,269,520 of the state's 5,770,545 residents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Romero</span> American sociologist

Mary Romero is an American sociologist. She is Professor of Justice Studies and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University, with affiliations in African and African American Studies, Women and Gender Studies, and Asian Pacific American Studies. Before her arrival at ASU in 1995, she taught at University of Oregon, San Francisco State University, and University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Professor Romero holds a bachelor's degree in sociology with a minor in Spanish from Regis College in Denver, Colorado. She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Colorado. In 2019, she served as the 110th President of the American Sociological Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Luis Hills</span>

The San Luis Hills are a group of small mountain ranges in Conejos and Costilla counties in the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado. The individual mountain ranges that make up the San Luis Hills include the Fairy Hills, the Brownie Hills, the Piñon Hills, and the South Piñon Hills. The San Luis Hills' highest point is Flat Top, elevation 9,206 feet

Olivia Romo is an American poet, spoken word artist, and water rights activist from Taos, New Mexico. Her work centers on the cultural significance of water within Northern New Mexico's agricultural communities, particularly focusing on the acequia irrigation system. Romo's upbringing in a family that valued land, culture, and history deeply influenced her creative journey. With a dual degree in English and Chicana and Chicano Studies from the University of New Mexico, she is well-equipped to blend her artistic expression with social advocacy.

The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico consists of 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) of mostly arid land. It was awarded by the government of New Mexico to the Beaubien family in 1843. The land grant was originally settled by Hispanics from New Mexico. Since the incorporation of the area of the grant into the United States in 1848, legal disputes between the descendants of the Hispanic settlers and Anglo ranchers about ownership of and access to some of the land in the grant area have been frequent and continued into the 21st century.

La Cucaracha (1976-1983) was an English and Spanish bilingual newspaper created by and for the Chicano community of Pueblo, Colorado. Creators Juan Espinosa, Deborah Espinosa, David Martinez and Pablo Mora recognized the exclusion of Chicanos in popular media and published the first issue in 1976.

Nicki Gonzales is an educator and historian. She is an associate professor of history at Regis University, and was the Colorado State Historian in 2021-2022. She was the first Latino person in this role.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Shirley Romero Otero". Return of the Corn Mothers.
  2. 1 2 3 Martinez Martinez, Deborah (2020). Chicana activists of Colorado: Powerful women paper dolls and their stories. Pueblo, CO: Vanishing Horizons. p. 10.
  3. ↑ "Fighting for a Place". Colorado Trust. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 Ortega-Welch, Marissa. "In Colorado, a storied valley blooms again". High Country News.
  5. ↑ "Move Mountains Projects Incorporated". Guidestar.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Jaquez, Jr., Charlie J. "The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant in Costilla County" (PDF). Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  7. ↑ "San Luis Valley and Central Sangre de Cristo Mountains Reconnaissance Survey". National Park Service. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  8. ↑ "San Luis". Colorado Encyclopedia. History Colorado. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  9. ↑ Garcia, Richard; Howland, Todd (1995). "Determining the Legitimacy of Spanish Land Grants in Colorado: Conflicting Values, Legal Pluralism, and Demystification of the Sangre De Cristo/Rael Case". Chicana/o-Latina/o Law Review. 16 (1). doi: 10.5070/C7161021057 .
  10. ↑ "En El Valle de San Luis Board Elected For Land Rights Project". La Cucaracha. November 20, 1978.
  11. ↑ Romero Otero, Shirley (May 5, 2020). "Know Your Rights On La Sierra". La Cucaracha.
  12. ↑ Perdoni, Kate (September 30, 2021). "Plaintiffs in Costilla County land rights hearing describe a 'campaign of harassment' Facebook shareTwitter shareEmail share". Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Service.
  13. ↑ Lobato, Sylvia (January 26, 2018). "Romero-Otero to be recognized in NM". Alamosa News.
  14. ↑ "Denver Public Library Latino Community Service Awards". Denver Public Library. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
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