Tradiciones — Raices 2020

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Raices WEEK 2 4 • 09 24 2020

20TH ANNUAL HONORAR A NUESTROS HÉROES

WEEK 2

4 • 09

24 2020

Raices

04 08 12

RON AND DINA BURNHAM Red River pioneers created

firefighting, EMS training for the entire Enchanted Circle B Y TA M R A T E S T E R M A N

ROOTS OF THE RED WILLOW PEOPLE Traditional knowledge,

TALPA TORREÓN: A Taos Treasure

BY PETER MACKANESS

agriculture and healing at Red Willow Center of Taos Pueblo

BY CINDY BROWN

COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY IS THE ROOT OF WHAT WE DO PROUD TO SUPPORT THE FOLLOWING ORGANIZATIONS:

CAV • Music From Angel Fire • Taos Feeds Taos Taos Fiestas Habitat for Humanity Taos Men's Shelter • Amigos Bravos • Lion's Club • Taos Milagro Rotary Angel Fire Rotary • Taos Children's Theatre • Taos High School Boosters Taos Little League • Shared Table • Rocky Mountain Youth Corp • Taos Hive

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O N

T H E

C O V E R

Ron and Dina Burnham, Photo by Morgan Timms S T A F F

Robin Martin, owner Chris Baker, publisher Staci Matlock, managing editor Virginia L. Clark, magazine editor Karin Eberhardt, creative director Chris Wood, advertising director Sean Ratliff, production manager Amy Boaz, copy editor CONTRIBUTING

FROM THE EDITOR I

T A O S

R A Í C E S

old European defense-tower roots

which is drawing upon historic

about ancestry, origins and foun-

A.D.; or go unimaginably further,

porating modern techniques to

(the Spanish word for “roots”) are

expand growing seasons, as well

Puebloans of northwestern New

here in Taos, ultimately aiming to

stand upon extraordinary behav-

region of North America

As Scott Gerdes, former Special

groups that serve the area as a

ders of defense – the raíces of this

ham of Red River have done,

mountains to the sea.

and go deeper than many communities in the Americas can claim.

Taos community foundations

Cindy Brown, Peter Mackaness, David Maes, Tamra Testerman

as feed greater numbers of people

Mexico and the Four Corners

eliminate food dependency for all.

whole, like Dina and Ron Burn-

land essentially spread from the

ties of the Enchanted Circle.

Whether you talk about 200-year-

Preserving and serving every gen-

eration is now a formal part of

Taos Pueblo’s foundational roots,

as seen in the Red Willow Center,

My Roots Run Deep A tenth-generation Taoseño, I was born and raised in Taos. Representing the community I grew up in has given me special insights and strengths as I work to represent you.

If you have any questions or if I can help, please call me at 575-770-3187.

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who

iors performed by individuals and

and training for all the communiB Y

to the Anasazi – the ancestral

built round stone-masonry cylin-

establishing lifesaving systems

S P O N S O R E D

agricultural practices and incor-

with origins in 1000 to 1500 A.D.

dations, roots that spread wide

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going as far back as 500 to 1800

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Sections editor, expressed so well in the last issue of Raíces in 2019, “Taos’ mixture of roots reside in

the hearts and souls of its striking, resourceful people. What was

planted before us and what we leave behind are our identity.”

Virginia L. Clark, magazine editor

RON AND DINA BURNHAM Red River couple pioneered firefighting and medical emergency response in the Enchanted Circle b y TAMRA TESTERMAN

MORGAN

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REMARKABLE Red River couple Ron and Dina Burnham have dedicated over half a century of their lives to fighting fires and saving lives in Northern New Mexico.

Ernestina Córdova, the president of Taos County Historical Society, said the Burnhams are “true pioneers of the Fire Service and EMS in Taos County.

Ron and Dina retired from the Fire Service/EMS with over 60 years of combined service to Northern New Mexico.”

The Burnhams are credited with “establishing the Enchanted Circle Fire Organization,” Córdova continued, a feat “which includes a training facility for all of Taos and the Enchanted Circle fire districts, to introduce firefighters to the basics of firefighting.”

Ron and Dina Burnham

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Today, because of their hard work and the dedication of the faculty at the training facility, hundreds of firefighters have been and continue to be trained in safe, basic firefighting.

People called to a career to fight fires and respond to medical emergencies are considered first responders because they go into unknown circumstances, make life or death decisions as a matter of course and on a good day save lives and minimize damage to land and property.

First responders in rural communities like Red River may answer the call to take care of a neighbor or join forces to contain a forest fire. The job requires a commitment beyond just showing up for work – the option to let your phone go to voicemail is simply not an option. continues page 06

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T I M M S/ TAO S

NEWS

GREG KRELLER

Red River Volunteer Fire Fighter Ron Burnham walks past the smoldering building where the historic Texas Reds Steakhouse and Saloon burned to the ground in the Nov. 3 structure fire in Red River.

Thank you for Setting the Roots In Emergency Services Thank you for setting the roots in emergency services in Taos County and the Enchanted Circle. “If it wasn’t for Ron & Dina Burnham, our fire and emergency services wouldn’t be where it is today in our communities. Thank you for training hundreds of of First Responders to protect life and property.” Gracias for Todo.

– Joaquin Gonzales General Manager

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Ron and Dina Burnham continued from 05

A LT H O U G H T H E Idynamic duo are “retired” now, for

Ron and Dina retirement looks like bushwhacking the Double Draw Loop Trail for others “to enjoy the forest”; as well as operating an interfacility ambulance transfer service for those in medical need of care beyond what’s available at their location. They stay focused on their passion to always make a difference for people and they have wisdom to offer that is steeped in years of experience.

Ron started as Red River fire chief in 1984 and Dina started shortly thereafter as an EMS provider. Dina realized she needed EMS certification because she was working at the ski area and kids would get injured.

“I felt helpless sitting, just waiting for the ski patrol to come check on them and realized I needed to have some kind of first aid,” she said. “I started with a first responder course from the Red River Fire Department. My instructor was Ron Burnham. That was one of the hardest courses I had ever taken. I had no education in medicine and didn’t even know what O2 was. A big learning curve for me. But once you get your foot in the door, whammo, I was hooked. I started volunteering with the department in 1986.”

Ron became a firefighter because “what young boy doesn’t want to be a firefighter? I was no exception. I had gained some training and experience in fire and EMS when I made Red River my home, so one of the first things I did was sign up as a volunteer for the Fire Department. The department was growing both in size and range of services provided, so I could take advantage of opportunities to grow with it. I have to admit that the adrenaline rush of responding to emergencies was a big part of the appeal of being in the fire service,

Ron Burnham sits outside the Red River Fire Department which recently became a Safe Place.

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but that was replaced with something more profound. It is difficult to find the words to describe the sense of satisfaction that comes with being a part of a team that comes to the aid of someone who is having a bad day. It’s the sense that what you do has meaning and value.”

The Burnhams said the field has grown since they began their careers.

“Many things have changed,” Dina said. “People still have the same body parts so anatomy doesn’t change, but over time ‘best practices’ for how we manage patients change. We used to handwrite patient care reports. Now we have computers and spell-check.”

"One of the most important changes in the local area has been the formation of the Enchanted Circle Regional Fire Association,” Ron said. “The association has promoted strong collaboration between member fire departments, high-quality training targeted at the needs of local firefighters and common dispatch protocols. The result is that when someone dials 911 to report a fire, it triggers an automatic response from multiple departments that work together as a team. The overall benefit to all the communities around the Enchanted Circle is significant.”

Both have sage advice for anyone following in their footsteps.

Ron said, “Be committed to be the best that you can be. Try to learn from every experience and every encounter and accept that you are human and will make mistakes.

I have always felt that I learned more from my mistakes than by getting it right. Be committed to be a reliable and responsible team member. Fire, rescue and EMS are all very much ‘team sports.’

Strive to earn the trust and respect of those you work with. Be an

COURTESY PHOTO

advocate for those you serve. In fire and EMS we are called because someone is experiencing a crisis that they can’t resolve on their own. Be committed to helping them through that crisis and treat them the way you would want someone you care about to be treated.”

Dina chimed in, “Appreciate good role models, steal everything you can from them. Keep up on your skills and knowledge. Treat every patient as you want your grandparents, parents, spouse or child to be treated.” G

F

M O R G A N

T I M M S/ TA O S

Together We Make A Powerful Difference photo credit: Jeff Caven

Taos Community Foundation is proud to serve the unique needs of our community by linking the charitable goals of donors to the causes that mean the most to them. Together we make a powerful difference.

Taos Community Foundation has awarded over $1 million in grants and scholarships this year. We are honored with the trust bestowed upon us from so many who partner with us to make a difference.

taoscf.org 07 TRADICIONES Raices

N E WS

ROOTS OF THE

RED WILLOW PEOPLE Traditional knowledge, agriculture and healing at Red Willow Center of Taos Pueblo s t o r y b y CINDY BROWN

p h o t o s b y MORGAN TIMMS

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T H E H I S T O R Y of Taos Pueblo is grounded in cultivation of the soil.

“We are connecting back to our roots through our work at Red Willow Center,” said Tiana Suazo, Red Willow Center executive director. “We are an agricultural people. In the past, we were a food hub. During trade events, we bartered food for other goods we needed.”

When Suazo told her grandfather about her interest in agriculture, he was excited and immediately gave her seeds for corn, beans, melons and peas from his own seed stores.

“Our grandfathers and grandmothers are waiting for our interest,” Suazo said. “The knowledge and seeds are there. Agriculture is so vital to our way of life. Reaching out to those before us who have this knowledge for help and advice is a traditional practice.”

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Red Willow Center Squash happily thriving in a Red Willow Center greenhouse.

Opposite: Red Willow Center Executive Director Tiana Suazo, amid the abundance of one of the center’s greenhouses.

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Originally named Red Willow Farm, the center began as a demonstration project to preserve traditional pueblo agricultural ways such as irrigating with the acequia and drawing on the knowledge of village elders regarding how and when to plant and when to harvest berries and other native plants.

The farm began with a grant from the program Building With Books after 9/11, under the leadership of Shawn Duran and Ryan Rose. It was built by volunteer hands. About 17 years ago, the farm incorporated as a nonprofit in order to be eligible for a wider range of funding. The Red Willow farmers market opened in 2007.

Another purpose of the project was to connect traditional agriculture with modern techniques like row cover and greenhouse growing. continues page 10

Red Willow people continued from 09

Executive Director Tiana Suazo shows off Red Willow Center’s outdoor largesse of corn and squash in August 2020.

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“THE NEW TECHNIQUES help extend our short growing season,” Suazo explained. “With the greenhouse, we can get an earlier start in the spring and grow into the winter months.”

In the early days of the pandemic, the market was closed due to the COVID-19 virus. As soon as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham identified farmers markets as an essential service, Red Willow Market was open to serve pueblo members.

“We’ve moved to a CSA [Community Supported Agriculture] model,” Suazo said. “We offer a range of bag sizes with vegetables and fruits from local farmers and Tesuque Pueblo. We include nutritional information and ways to cook the vegetables.”

With the remaining food, the farm staff makes bags and delivers them to seniors.

“One of our major focuses is Now the farm is doing well and serving our elders,” she added. providing work for youth as well as They are the knowledge holders good organic food for the commuand our source of wisdom; they nity. Not only does the farm propaved the way for us in tribal life. duce and distribute food and save It is our responsibility to take care seeds, it also acts as a resource for of them. That is part of our interthe youth – a place to learn life generational focus.” skills like writing résumés and netThis fall, Suazo hopes to coordi- working – hence its name as Red nate with the schools to do some Willow Center. youth programming that brings Suazo plans to bring in speakers students into an outdoor setting from colleges and trade schools. for education modeled on the Red She noted that everyone who Willow Farm After-School program. works at the farm doesn’t necesThe past year has seen major sarily go into agriculture as a career. changes at the farm. “We have a “However, when you grow your good foundation, but it had some own food you will never go hungry cracks,” said Suazo, who took over and it builds confidence for the as executive director last Novemoutside world,” she said, noting ber. In the spring, a new staff was that agriculture is a way to stay hired to ensure that everyone at connected to the roots of pueblo the farm is well-qualified and has life in a healing way. a deep care for the community Indeed, healing is a major – a process Suazo describes as a theme for Suazo in her work. As journey. she pointed out, there are recent

MORGAN TIMMS/TAOS NEWS

Executive director Tiana Suazo shows some of the growing techniques being used and taught at Red Willow Center in August 2020.

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traumas from substance abuse experienced by many pueblo members along with long-standing traumas from 500 years of oppression and genocide against Native peoples.

Farming as a way to health Suazo’s own healing journey is inextricably linked to agriculture.

The seed of interest in agriculture was first planted when she volunteered at Red Willow Center as part of an internship program with Ogallala Commons based in Nazareth, Texas, which required 10 hours of community service.

She also worked at a farm in Colorado called Laughing Wolf Farm owned by Lee-Ann Hill, learning about markets and supplying food to farmers markets.

“At that time, I was struggling,” Suazo reflected. “Working on the farm helped me tremendously.

When I was sitting in a field, weeding, I had time to think. I began to stop blaming people for some traumas in my life and to look at root causes.”

In talking to her colleagues at the farm, she heard similar stories and realized how much unresolved trauma exists. She decided that she wanted to be in charge of herself, her money and her future.

After initially considering a career in art, Suazo found herself more deeply involved with agriculture. She worked at Taos County Economic Development Corporation in marketing after finishing her degree in business.

“It was a unique place because of the commercial kitchen,” she explained. “It was led by strong ladies. Although I worked in marketing, I learned a lot about how food is processed and stored.”

In 2018, she returned to TCEDC to create Native Youth Internships through a grant from Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company. They revitalized a garden plot there and in addition to their other duties, each intern was able to pick a crop to grow that they could sell, including beets, lettuce, spinach, beans or kale, and keep the proceeds.

“We sold our produce at Red Willow Center. They learned how to grow and also process the abundance of the garden and store it,” Suazo said. After working outside in the mornings, the group would explore Native history and Indigenous movements related to food, plus financial literacy and résumé building during the hot afternoons.

Working with community experts like Miguel Santistevan, they learned about composting and worms, and also foraged for mushrooms on the way to Williams Lake and picked berries at the Taos Land Trust Río Fernando Park and the pueblo.

In the process, the interns learned how to share abundance by giving their crops to family and the community. They sold their excess product at reduced prices to lowincome people so everyone could have high-quality food.

“They learned about how to stay resilient and eat good food; about healing with agriculture and tradition; about addressing the whole person – both food and mental health,” Suazo said.

Fueled by her passion for healing from substance abuse, Suazo took a job with Northern New Mexico Rural Health Network as tribal liaison between the eight Northern Pueblos. Last fall, the opportunity arose with Red Willow. She took the executive director position, excited by the chance to directly serve her people while incorporating her love for agriculture.

Dreams for the future As Suazo looks to the future and post-COVID times, she dreams of being able to serve the whole Taos community.

“I hope that Red Willow Center can become a hub for the pueblo and the entire community; that it can be a resource for youth and adults, related to farming, mental health and education – a community place where people come and ask for what they need. I hope for a time that we can work together to serve the whole community and share our focus on seeds, agriculture, land and water.” G

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TALPA TORREÓN:

A TAOS TREASURE b y PETER MACKANESS

COURTESY TAOS COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY

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A THOUSAND YEARS ago, the ancestors of today's Taos Pueblo people took advantage of Taos' fertile valley. Recognizing its true value, they settled here to hunt, gather and farm. When Spanish colonists arrived in the 17th century they observed the prosperity of the Indigenous people and quickly realized the region's potential for trade and agriculture and also settled here. By the beginning of the 18th century, news of Taos' abundant stores reached nomadic Apache, Co­manche, Navajo and Ute Indians, who had only recently adopted horses for transportation. These warrior horsemen swept down the various trails to raid Taos Pueblo and their Spanish neighbors.

To ward off the frequent attacks, the sedentary farmers set up a defense system, which took the form of walled compounds with adjoining guard towers. Throughout the Taos Valley, each village

and settlement devised a series of lookouts that covered an area about 20 miles long by 5 miles wide.

The highest point was Lookout Moun­tain (Devisadero Peak), 9,000 feet above the valley and just south and east of San Geronimo de Taos.

It became the primary observation point. Down below, the people built fortified adobe-room blocks around a central plaza or placita with stout gates and no external window openings, erecting defen­ sive towers at the comers. Almost all the towers were erected in line-of-sight of each other. This plan assured the inhabitants that they would not be surprised by raiding Indians. Invaders could be spotted coming into the valley from any one of these many routes. It was quite easy to see from one end of the valley to the other – from Río Vista (the top of Pilar Hill) to Upper Desmontes (above the Río Hondo). The approach of any riders would be revealed by the clouds of dust from the vantage point of a 20- to 30-foot tall torreón.

(Ayer y Hoy, spring 2000, abridged; full article at taoscountyhistoricalsociety.org)

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GAIL WENDORF

Taos County Historical Society Preservation Committee member Corky Hawk shovels dirt in the far back, shown with master mudders Antonio Gomez at center, and Floyd Gomez, in foreground, remudding the Talpa Torreón in July of 2020.

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Talpa Torreón continued from 13

GAIL WENDORF

O N LY T W O T O R R E Ó N E S Iremain of the 50 to 75 originals. One is intact, the

other in ruins. The second torreón is the real treasure. Hidden away a quarter of a mile east of Ranchos on State Road 68 and 50 yards south of State Road 518, the Antonio José Vigil family torreón sits forlornly on the north rim of the Ranchos valley, at the southeastern end of Taos valley, about a mile west of the hamlet of Talpa.

This ancient monument is strategically sited at the edge of a llano overlooking the once-walled Spanish village of Ranchos de Taos with its focal point the San Francisco de Asís Church, and above the old Cordillera Trail (now called Valerio Road and State Road 240) that runs along the base of the Ranchos-Talpa ridge.

It is situated a mile west of the Camino Real that ran from Taos Pueblo, the northern terminus of the prehistoric Indian and Spanish colonial Chihuahua Trail, through Santa Fe and El Paso to Chihuahua, Mexico City and on to Veracruz. This old fort has endured for two and a half centuries or longer. Its position reveals that it was fully functioning and an integral part of the Taos tower network.

But even with the torreón network in place, at the height of the raiding period from 1760 to 1780 most all the Spanish in the valley retreated to the security of a much-reinforced Taos Pueblo.

The Vigil clan, however, chose to remain in the

A very old window on the Talpa Torreón, but a new addition historically.

The house in the rear belongs to Gail Wendorf, which she says is actually older than the 1830s tree-ring dated torreón. Wendorf has records going back to 1750s, an old part of the ancient Talpa/ Ranchos ridge.

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no-man's-land near Talpa, where they continued to raise animals and crops and sought safety in their miniature turret only when the raiders appeared.

The Vigils had constructed the tower themselves, which is in many ways the torreón classic archetype. The first story is round, about 18 feet in its outside diameter, with two-foot thick walls of adobe brick, roughly 10 feet high. The ceiling contains seven vigas, spaced on two-foot intervals, across the top of which are rajas, split-cedar planks, or rough boards, tablas, covered with two feet of packed earth. Built into the southwest wall was a low door frame two feet wide by five feet high by two feet deep and a door set within. At the southwest and southeast corners were two small barred window-openings about one foot wide and two feet high. On the northeastern side of the torreón is another window-opening two feet high by four feet wide. This appears to be a later addition, but it may be that there was an original smaller opening that was later enlarged. A descendant of the grant settler, Antonio Jose Vigil, reported that until 1910 this tower had a six-sided upper story of logs, bringing its total height to about 20 feet. No doubt there were four to six ports about one foot wide and two feet high cut into the logs on each of the sides.

The earliest photographic record of the Vigil Torreón dates to circa 1965. At that time both windows and door and doorframe were intact,

Preserving 200-year-old Taos Treasure – Talpa Torreón

by David Maes

Members of the Taos Historical Society’s Preservation Committee applied two coats of mudding to the Talpa Torreón this past July. The 200-year-old historic structure was showing its age. The mud coats that covered the torreón’s centuries-old walls had all but washed off, leaving the adobes exposed.

Members of the committee worked with two professional mud plasterers, applying a first base, thick coat of mud; then after some days drying, applying a second “sealer” coat. [Accompanying photos] show committee members working on this many-day project under the hot July 2020 sun.

Preservation Committee members include David Maes, Charles “Corky” Hawk, Paul Figueroa, and Jack Barret.

Not pictured is PC member Mark Henderson. Gail Wendorf, owner of the adjacent house once connected to the torreón, also helped with the project.

The Preservation Committee has been working with the torreón’s owner, attorney Alan Maestas, toward restoration to the torreón’s original condition.

Dendrochronology tests on the torreón vigas and lintels conducted in 2015 reveal that 10 vigas and lintels date to 1836; one viga dates to 1824; and another viga dates to 1822. These are “outer-ring” dates, meaning the vigas were cut during the years cited.

A spring 2000 Ayer y Hoy article by Peter Mackaness discusses the historical importance of the Talpa Torreón, and of other torreónes strategically placed throughout Taos Valley in the 1700 and 1800s. Only two torreónes remain in Taos County. The other Taos torreón is located in El Prado.

Right: The ‘work gang’ Preservation Committee standing in front of the freshly mudded Talpa torreón include (kneeling, from left) Paul Figueroa and David Maes, (standing, from left) Jack Barret, Charles “Corky” Hawk and master plasterer Floyd Gomez. Not shown is PC member Mark Henderson. Gail Wendorf, owner of the adjacent house once connected to the torreón, also helped with the project.

GAIL WENDORF

as was the entire first floor, but there is no evidence of a second story. A typical feature of many flat-­roofed adobe structures in Northern New Mexico, a wooden canal, or drainage spout, appears intact in 1965. The interior of the torreón exhibits a sunken floor, much like a prehistoric Indian pit house. Remnants of a wooden window shutter show in two other photographs.

A very recent survey of the building reveals a quickly eroding thin covering of cement plaster over chicken wire added in the late 1970s.

By the end of the 20th century the old door and the doorframe, one window unit and the

canal have disap­peared. The roof is caving in; the vigas and rajas are exposed and rotting. In five more years, with­out preservation, this entire venerable architectural gem will melt back into the earth from which it was made. It would be a shame and an irreparable cultural loss for a structure so unique to Taos to vanish without a trace.

In its heyday, the Talpa turret fulfilled a multi­tude of purposes. Its five-fold function was as a watchtower (el mirador), a signal tower (el cen­tinel), a beacon or lighthouse (el farol), a battle platform (el estancion de la lucha) and as a sanctu­ary (el refugio).

To put torreónes in a historical context as unique forms and as a specialized type of military architecture adapted to local needs, it must be remembered that these traditional towers had prece­dents among the Anasazi Indians in the form of round stone masonry cylinders from 1000 to 1500 A.D., and among European people in the form of crenelated castle turrets built from 500 to 1800 A.D. The Talpa torreón was simply built, and would be simple to salvage and save. G

Twentieth Annual

TRADICIONES Honorar a Nuestros Héroes

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Taos Community Foundation for being our title sponsor for this year’s Tradiciones section.

Your generous support made this year’s Tradiciones section one of our biggest ever.

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2020 Taos Pueblo WarChief Gary J. Lujan, center, WarChief Secretary Daniel R. Lucero, left, and Lieutenant WarChief Michael A. Martinez, right.. Photo by Rick Romancito, Taos News.

Roots: A civilization continuously inhabited of more than 1,000 years.

Taos Mountain Casino is proud to honor those who both exemplify the best of the past and who help us weave it into the future.

These people are our own links in what continues to be an unbroken circle of tradition at Taos Pueblo.

COVID-19 UPDATE: In these unprecedented times, we’ve been proud to respond swiftly to the Covid-19 crisis. Taos Pueblo remains closed but we look forward

to welcoming you when it’s safe. Taos Mountain Casino is proudly open, keeping you safe with masks and temperature checks.

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