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By Lorenzo Zamora
Collection Overview
Abstract
Colorado Chicano activist Shirley Romero Otero collected multiple records relating to the Land Rights Council and the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant from 1977 to 2021. This land grant encompasses Costilla County, Colorado, a county that is part of the San Luis Valley and borders the state of New Mexico. The grant was made to Luis Lee and Narciso Beaubien in 1844 by the Republic of Mexico. Lee and Beaubien were killed in the "Taos Rebellion" on January 19, 1847. On May 4, 1848, Carlos Beaubien (father of Narciso) became legal owner of the The Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. He baught Lee's shares for $100. The records that Shirely collected focus on two legal cases regarding the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, specifically cases Rael vs. Taylor and Lobato vs. Taylor. Shirley Otero collected Land Rights Council agendas, meeting minutes, reports, watershed assessments, newspapers, Chinook Grant Proposal documents, Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Land Rights Council, field notes, and legal records from Ballard Spahr, LLP regarding client access to the Cielo Vista Ranch.
Scope and Contents of the Materials
This collection contains various publications, newspaper clippings, meeting minutes, subject files, and legal records. This collection also contains case files related to the Sangre de Cristo land grant. This collection ranges in dates from 1961-2021.
Biographical Note
Shirley Romero Otero is a Chicana activist who was born in 1955 in San Pablo, Colorado to her parents, Moises and Esmeralda Olivas Romero. Shirley has dedicated the greater part of her life to ensuring communal access to the grounds of the La Sierra portion of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, particularly after the removal of that right in 1960. Shirley co-founded the Land Rights Council in 1977 for that purpose. With the aid of the Land Rights Council, Shirley has taken on wealthy absentee landowners who have sought to restrict communal access to the La Sierra portion of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. She and the Land Rights Council were involved in a lengthy court case which, in 2002, culminated in a Colorado Supreme Court decision restoring access of the La Sierra portion to the heirs of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant. For her continuing efforts to protect the original agreement of the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, as well as her efforts to bring about positive change in her community and the Chicano community, Shirley was awarded the Cesar Chavez Latino Leadership Hall of Fame Award by the Denver Public Library in 2021 and became a Corn Mother Honoree in 2022. Shirley completed her term as President of the Land Rights Council on December 20, 2022. She is currently the Director of the Move Mountains Youth Organization.
Subject/Index Terms
Administrative Information
Repository:
Colorado State University-Pueblo Library
Access Restrictions:
There are no access restrictions on this collection.
Use Restrictions:
Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.
Acquisition Source:
Ms. Shirley Romero Otero
Related Materials:
Records of the Land Rights Council. For more information please see https://archives.colostate.edu/repositories/2/resources/59.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Box:
[Box 1],
[
Box 2],
[
All]
- Box 1
- Folder 1: Ranch Legal Documents, 2020
- Folder 2: Ranch Legal Documents, Copy, 2020
- Folder 3: Legal Draft and Transcript, 2011-2016
- Folder 4: Meeting Agendas and Reports, 2011-2018
- Folder 5: Meeting Agendas and Minutes, 2016-2019
- Folder 6: Subject Files, 2014-2018
- Folder 7: Bylaws of the Land Rights Council, 2016-2017
- Folder 8: Correspondence, 2011, 2017-2018
- Folder 9: Shirley Ortero Photograph
- Folder 10: Various Publications, 2017-2018
- Folder 11: Various Publications, 2018-2019
- Folder 12: Chinook Grant Proposal, 2006-2007
- Folder 13: Canon de Chama, 2011
- Folder 14: Common Counsel Foundation Conference Grant, 2007
- Folder 15: Abelard Foundation Grant, 2008-2009
- Folder 16: "Geographies of Struggle", Keith Linder
- Folder 17: "America's Great Outdoors", Conservation Zones, 2011
- Folder 18: Valley Courier Newsletter, 2011
- Folder 19: Torcido Creek Gate Lawsuit, Plaintiff List, 3/11/2011
- Folder 20: Response to NPR La Sierra Story, 12/26/2006
- Folder 21: Land Rights Council Board Meetings, 2017-2018
- Folder 22: Culebra Watershed Assessment, 2018
- Folder 23: Lobato vs. Taylor Community Celebration, 2019
- Folder 24: Cielo Vista Ranch Property Forms
- Folder 25: Various Chinook Fund Proposals, 1979-1994
- Folder 26: Chinook Fund, 1994-1995
- Folder 27: Chinook Fund, 1997
- Folder 28: Chinook Fund Proposal, 1997
- Folder 29: Land Rights Council Trust Financial Report, 10/31/1997
- Folder 30: Apolinar Rael vs. Zachary Taylor Lawsuit Documents, 9/28/2021
Browse by Box:
[Box 1],
[
Box 2],
[
All]
