Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Our Land: Jet Fuel Pollution, The Line

This week on New Mexico in Focus: The state’s first official Indigenous Peoples’ Day is right around the corner on Monday, October 13. Correspondent Antonia Gonzales speaks with three Native artists and activists about how they plan to celebrate, what the day can mean for Indigenous peoples, and how they pass their message and history to non-Natives who are curious about the past.

In this month’s installment of Our Land, correspondent Laura Paskus examines the recently ramped-up effort to clean jet fuel pollution from the water below Albuquerque. The massive project comes after decades passed with undiscovered jet fuel seeping into the ground beneath Kirtland Air Force Base. The Air Force says it’s made big strides, and community leaders are looking to verify that.

Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel debate the New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision to deny petitions related to decommissioning the San Juan Generating Station in light of the Energy Transition act, and putting all decisions back into the hands of the Public Regulation Commission (PRC). The Line panelists also discuss New Mexico’s Senate race, and the role campaign dollars will have in the primaries. Finally, the Line looks at the legislative actions a policy-reform think tank, Think New Mexico, is proposing to help senior citizens. 

Host:
Gene Grant   

Correspondents:  
Antonia Gonzales
Laura Paskus 

Guests:
Jessica “Jaylyn” Atsye, Pueblo of Laguna; Rock Your Mocs founder
Def-I, Diné Nation; hip hop artist
Emmett “Shkeme” Garcia, Pueblo of Santa Ana; storyteller, educator and musician

Line Panelists:
Dan Foley, former state representative
Inez Russell Gomez, Santa Fe New Mexican
Andy Lyman, New Mexico Political Report
Sophie Martin, attorney