Alianza Federal de Mercedes

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Alianza Federal de Mercedes, (Spanish: "Federal Land Grant Alliance"), also known as the Alianza de Pueblos y Pobladores (Alliance of Towns and Settlers) or the Alianza de Pueblos Libres (Alliance of Free Pueblos), was a group led by Reies Tijerina based in New Mexico in the 1960s that fought for the land rights of Hispanic New Mexicans. Their slogan was "Justice is Our Creed and the Land is Our Heritage."

The Alianza had affiliates in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico and San Luis, Colorado.

Hispanic residents had settled in the areas of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado centuries before. Under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the United States Congress ostensibly guaranteed that current residents would retain their land rights after the New Mexico territory was transferred to U.S. ownership. However, by the 1960s, many traditional shepherds had lost their land to cattle ranchers and the U.S. Forestry Service.

On June 5, 1967, in Tierra Amarilla, a small band of Chicanos affiliated with Alianza Federal de Mercedes attempted to arrest the County's district attorney and put him on trial. There were shots fired and two men were wounded. The invaders held the courthouse for two hours, ransacking it, but the district attorney was out of town. The National Guard, equipped with armored tanks, was called in by Governor of New Mexico David Cargo. While the gunmen were in hiding, the National Guard held many of their family members captive. This incident received national publicity and brought the Alianza's cause to public attention.

[edit] References

Richard M. Gardner, Grito! Reies Tijerina and the New Mexico Land Grant War of 1967, Bobbs-Merrill Co, 1970, trade paperback, 292 pages, ISBN 0-672-50946-6; Random House, ISBN 0-609-02477-9
Tony Hillerman, The Great Taos Bank Robbery and other Indian Country Affairs, University of New Mexico Press, Albquerque, 1973, trade paperback, 147 pages, ISBN 0-8263-0530-X
Sabine R. Ulibarri, Tierra Amarilla; stories of New Mexico/Cuentos de Nuevo Mexico, University of New Mexico Press, 1971, trade hardback, 167 pages, in English and Spanish, ISBN 0-8263-0212-2