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Shirley Otero Collection of Sangre de Cristo Land Grant Case Files

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Title: Shirley Otero Collection of Sangre de Cristo Land Grant Case Files

Primary Creator: Shirley Romero Otero (1955-)

Extent: 2.0 Boxes

Arrangement: Collection was kept in original order as much as possible.  Minimal processing was conducted on the collection.

Date Acquired: 08/29/2023

Subjects: Land Rights Council, Sangre de Cristo Land Grant, San Luis Valley -- History, Shirley Romero Otero

Forms of Material: Newspapers, Photographs, Posters, Publications

Languages: English

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.

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.

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.

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.