Guest Blog: Leading With A Love For the Land, Family Traditions, and Culture With Santa Fe County Commissioner Henry Roybal

By Henry Roybal, Santa Fe County Commissioner

My family has a long history in the Pojoaque Valley of New Mexico. Both my mother and father’s side of the family has been a part of this county for generations, dating back to the early pre-Hispanic settlers in the area. Growing up in New Mexico, I was immersed in the traditional farming community and grew up with the ranchero lifestyle.

My parents and grandparents were very mindful of sustainability, and with the large property my family owned and maintained, we cultivated the land with our own hands, farming, ranching, and raising livestock. My relationship to the land and my culture brings me great pride, this is my querencia.

One tradition that is embedded in my upbringing is cleaning our family acequia in the spring. Acequias are irrigation channels that are community-managed, bringing runoff water from the mountains to farmlands downstream. In my town, the acequias ensure that our land receives water to cultivate our crops.  After centuries, the acequias in the Nambe, Pojoaque, Tesuque basin have endured and continue to sustain us. I first helped to clean our family acequia when I was 9 or 10. Back then, I didn’t understand why it was a tradition, it was just something that my family did. I thought it was normal for everyone to clean their acequia before I realized that other families didn’t practice the same traditions. I remember I’d ask my grandfather why we have to clean the acequia every year and he’d say, “you have to give back to it for it to give back to you, that’s the only way.” Today, that still holds true. If we don’t give back and take care of the land, and our resources, it won’t provide for us either. It comes down to respect. To this day, it’s still something that my family practices, and a tradition that I have passed on to my own children. They understand how important it is to uphold and participate in our age-old traditions, and I will continue to advocate for their continued legacy.  

I attribute the pride I have for our traditions to my grandparents, who always reminded me about the importance of preserving our way of life, and protecting the land for future generations. They taught us “leave no trace” principles, making sure to clean up after our camping and hiking trips, and respecting the wildlife we’d come across. I have distinct memories of my grandfather hiking down the mountain with a bag of other hikers’ trash in addition to our own. He always said that if we don’t take care of the forests, they’ll be gone. At a young age, we learned that the forest, the land, everything that sustains us comes from what the earth offers.

My upbringing instilled a love for the land, our natural resources and the environment, and it presents itself in my work as a Santa Fe County Commissioner. A lot of the things that I advocate for are for the protection of those very values – taking care of our natural resources, moving away from fossil fuels, and supporting renewable energy. Though it’s hard to name just one, something I’m particularly proud of is our advocacy around the support for wildlife habitat connectivity corridors that we have passed resolutions for. Being a public servant and working for my community allows me to serve at another level, offering solutions that align with my community’s values, and devoted attachment to it. One of my favorite mottos is “for the people, by the people.” Being a Hispanic voice on the County Commission means that our culture and heritage gets to be represented, and change the things that we don’t agree with.

During my term as County Commissioner, I hope to continue to listen to the people that make up our county, and improving the little league fields that so many of our constituents and their families enjoy. Promoting and encouraging recycling, and teaching the next generation the importance of preserving natural resources, will mean I have reached my goal of helping to build a legacy of stewardship in my community.

My passion for the natural world stems from the values my family instilled in my growing up. Being outdoors, in the wilderness is where I go to relax – setting aside a lot of the troubles and stress I have, and taking a moment to forget about how busy life gets. It’s a moment of peace, where I can return to my heritage. My favorite pastime is hunting and fishing, especially in our very own local rivers. For generations, our forests and streams have flourished with native trout and big game, and we must protect them for future generations to enjoy and to nourish our natural habitats.

I’m proud of the diversity and the culture in our neighborhoods and pueblos here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The cross-cultural friendships among varying communities uplifts me and gives me hope that the best is yet to come. I’m both grateful and appreciative to the community that allowed me to take part in shaping our county’s history.