Pueblo of Jemez v. United States

The Valles Caldera was a supervolcano crater in New Mexico’s Jemez Mountains. For hundreds of years, Indian tribes used the Valles Caldera for hunting, gathering, and cultural practices. The highest mountain, Redondo Peak, was a pilgrimage site. Beginning in the late 1200s, the Pueblo of Jemez (Jemez Pueblo) (plaintiff) began occupying sites in the Valles Caldera, including Banco Bonito. The Jemez Pueblo occupied fieldhouses and farmed on Banco Bonito for over 400 years, with heaviest occupation between 1500 and 1650. Although most farming operations had ceased by 1650, the Jemez Pueblo continued to regularly use Banco Bonito to access Redondo Peak and other nearby areas. In 1860, Congress granted a tract of land to Luis Maria de Baca’s heirs that included the area in and around the Valles Caldera. However, the Jemez Pueblo and other tribes continued to use the land. In 2000, Congress passed an act to purchase the Baca heirs’ property interests and establish the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The Jemez Pueblo sued the United States (defendant) under the federal Quiet Title Act, seeking a declaration that the Jemez Pueblo held aboriginal title to lands now constituting the national preserve, including Banco Bonito. The district court ruled against the Jemez Pueblo, holding, among other things, that although aboriginal title to Banco Bonito had been established between the 1400s and 1650, the title was subsequently lost when the Jemez Pueblo failed to continuously use the area to the exclusion of other Indian tribes. The Jemez Pueblo appealed.