Providing for acceptance of a statue of Po'Pay, presented by the State of New Mexico, for placement in National Statuary Hall, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, as a cosponsor of the resolution before us, I rise in strong support of its passage and am looking forward to the unveiling of this beautiful statue at tomorrow's ceremony in the rotunda. My district is home to 14 of the 19 Pueblos in New Mexico, and I am very pleased this moment has finally arrived.

Today and tomorrow are exciting days for our State as we at long last unveil our second statue in the United States Capitol. As every New Mexican knows, we are proud of our other statue, that of Senator Dennis Chavez, El Senador, the first Hispanic Member of the United States Senate and a champion of civil rights.

The statue of Po'Pay has had a long journey to get here. The journey began in 1997 when State Senator Manny Aragon and State Representative Nick Salazar introduced Senate bill 404 to the New Mexico State legislature which formally nominated Po'Pay to be the second figure placed in Statuary Hall to represent our State. The bill was soon passed and signed by the Governor, leading to the creation of the Statuary Hall Commission and Foundation which was responsible for determining the statue's appearance and fundraising.

The appearance of Po'Pay was a particularly difficult problem because there are no pictures or physical descriptions of him. Nevertheless, the stunning sculpture that will be unveiled tomorrow gives us a powerful glimpse of who Po'Pay was.

And who was Po'Pay? Very little is known of this man's life; but he was a native of San Juan Pueblo, soon to officially change its name to what it was before Spanish missionaries arrived in New Mexico more than 400 years ago, Ohkay Owingeh, located in northern New Mexico and which I today have the honor of representing in the Congress. He was by most accounts a religious leader. But in 1680 he organized a widespread rebellion against the Spanish throughout the region on a single day.

Po'Pay is considered to be the leader of the first American Revolution. He has been recognized throughout history as the man who made it possible for Pueblo culture to live and to sustain itself through the centuries. The 19 New Mexico Pueblos and Hopi villages in Arizona attribute their ability to continue their traditions and way of life to the efforts of the Pueblo revolt and its leader Po'Pay.

The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, as it is now known, was the single most successful act of resistance by Native Americans against a European colonial power. It established Indian independence in the Pueblos for more than a decade; and even after Spanish rule was reimposed, it forced the imperial authorities to observe religious tolerance. Ever since the 17th century, the cross and the kiva have existed side by side in Pueblo communities.

It is for these reasons that Po'Pay is being honored with a statue in the Capitol. It is fitting that Po'Pay is joining Senator Dennis Chavez as our State's representative in the Halls of Congress. As one member of the Statuary Hall Commission stated recently, ``The selection of Po'Pay to be placed in Statuary Hall serves as a unique reminder to the world that two unique cultures can coexist without destruction of their traditional cultural values and beliefs.''

Cliff Fragua, the sculptor who crafted this rendering of Po'Pay out of a 7-foot slab of Tennessee marble, also deserves a word of praise for his beautiful work. Thousands of visitors to Washington, D.C., each year will see this work and gain a sense of New Mexico's history and our country's history. I would also like to point out that this statue created by Mr. Fragua will be the first in Statuary Hall created by a Native American.

Madam Speaker, passage of this resolution today is a precursor to what will be a great day and celebration tomorrow for our State. I am honored to be a part of it. I would also like to recognize my wife Jill's role on the Statuary Hall Commission and to thank Chris Romero and Theresa Aguilar of my staff for all the hard work they have put in with the commission during the planning of this event. I would also like to recognize Mr. Benny Shendo, secretary of the Department of Indian Affairs in New Mexico, who will be in Washington for this ceremony. And to close, to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ney) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) for yielding me the time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support House Concurrent Resolution 242, authorizing use of the Capitol Rotunda on September 22 for a ceremony to receive the statue of the Indian leader Po'Pay, leader of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 against the Spanish, from the State of New Mexico.

This is New Mexico's second statute to be submitted for the National Statuary Hall Collection and the last of the 100 statues authorized to be submitted by the States since the collection was established by law in 1864. The collection is now finally complete, though in the future, some States may choose to replace their existing statues with different significant historical figures.

In 1998, the New Mexico legislature selected Po'Pay as a subject of the State's second statue for the National Statuary Hall Commission and created the New Mexico Statuary Hall Commission, whose members were appointed by the Governor. Sculptor Cliff Fragua, a Pueblo Indian himself, was awarded the commission to create the statue in December 1999.

The 7-foot-high statue is carved from pink Tennessee marble and will stand on a 3-foot-high pedestal comprised of a steel frame clad in black granite.

Po'Pay was born around 1630 in the San Juan Pueblo, in what is now called New Mexico. As an adult, he became a medicine man and was responsible for his people's spiritual life. He also shared their suffering at the hands of Spanish settlers and missionaries, who forced them to provide labor and food to support the Spanish community. The Spaniards also pressured them to give up their religion and way of life and to adopt Christianity, and those found practicing their religion were tortured and flogged, while others were executed.

In 1675, Po'Pay and 46 other Pueblo leaders were convicted of sorcery. He was among those flogged while others were executed.

In 1680, Po'Pay organized the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish. To coordinate the timing of the uprising, he and his followers sent runners to each pueblo with knotted deerskin strips. One knot was to be untied each day, and the revolt would begin on the day the last one was untied. After the Spaniards arrested two of the runners, the pueblos were quickly notified to accelerate the revolt. The attacks began on August 10, 2 days before the last knot would have been untied. The Spaniards took refuge at Santa Fe; the besieging Indians cut off their water supply, but soon permitted them to leave the area.

While the Spanish ultimately returned in 1692 and restored control over New Mexico as a Spanish territory, their interest in and ability to disrupt the native cultures were severely diminished. The Pueblo Revolt helped to ensure the survival of the Pueblo culture and shaped the history of the American Southwest.

Madam Speaker, as a member of the Joint Committee on the Library, which supervises the National Statuary Hall Collection, I am pleased to participate in this significant milestone for such a piece of art to be placed in the Nation's Capitol Building.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to yield 4\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) who really this Po'Pay would have been his constituent had we had a country at that time.

Madam Speaker, I fully support H. Con. Res. 242, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 242) providing for acceptance of a statue of Po'Pay, presented by the State of New Mexico, for placement in National Statuary Hall, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 242. As the chairman of the Joint Committee on the Library, which has the privilege and responsibility for the acceptance and placement of statues, the National Statuary Hall collection, I want to first thank my colleagues from the New Mexico delegation and their constituents for the statue of the Indian Pueblo leader Po'Pay. This resolution was introduced by the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) and also supported by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce). I also want to thank all three of those Members for bringing this resolution before us.

Po'Pay was the San Juan Pueblo Indian leader and organizer of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 that drove the Spanish colonials from Pueblo lands. It was not until after his death that the Spanish recolonized the land. But because of Po'Pay, they granted the Pueblo more rights and freedoms during their recolonization.

This statue will join the six other Native American leaders honored in the collection. It is significant because not only is it New Mexico's second; it is the 100th and final original statute to be accepted into the National Statuary Hall collection.

Approximately 3 years after the bare 7.5-ton mass of Tennessee marble arrived in New Mexico, Native American sculptor Cliff Fragua unveiled his statue of Po'Pay at San Juan Pueblo.

Again, I want to thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson), the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce), and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall). I want to thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald), who serves as our ranking member but also as a member of the Joint Committee on the Library for helping us get this work product out so swiftly and for her concern about this issue.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Again I want to thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson), the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) for bringing this important resolution to us and, again, our ranking member from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) for her service on both committees. Also, I would note we are going to have an historic unveiling today at 2 o'clock with the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Millender-McDonald) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) of Representative Rainey, who was the first elected African American to the U.S. House, and will be the first time an African American portrait will be placed in the House, which is going to be a glorious ceremony we will be sharing with our ranking member. So we are busy today with the committees. It has been a pleasure to be a part of this.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague very much for bringing this resolution forward today. I wanted to thank the Statuary Hall Commission for its work and particularly to recognize the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) and his wife, Jill Cooper, who serves on that commission, and thank her for her work, as well as the sculptor, Cliff Fragua from Jemez Pueblo.

This has been a great effort on the part of New Mexico, and it completes a collection here in the Capitol that was started in 1864. Every State can provide two statues of people from their States that are significant in the history of their States to a collection that is housed here in the Capitol. This statue will complete that collection for the first time in 141 years of this Nation's history, and this new statue will now be here so that the people of the country, the some 2 million visitors who come here each year, can see this collection.

Po'Pay represents a time in New Mexico's history that really shapes our heritage and our culture to this day. As my colleague mentioned, and explained the history of this very important man, when Francisco Vasquez de Coronado came to New Mexico in 1540 and then de Onate came in 1598, they took formal possession of New Mexico for Spain.

In 1598, 7 years before the English landed at Jamestown, New Mexico was permanently settled by a European power. But the way they treated the Indians at that time was nothing to be proud of. The Indians were forced to work on Spanish grants. They were not recognized in their religion. At that time, Juan de Onate tried to exterminate the Pueblo religion. The treatment of the Indians led to a revolt in 1680 led by Po'Pay.

Po'Pay is not without controversy. He suppressed others and served as kind of a dictator from Santa Fe for several years until his death. But he did have an important effect on New Mexico's history, because when Diego de Vargas returned in 1692 to New Mexico, the attitude toward the Pueblo people was profoundly different.

The Spanish established an office of Indian protection that recognized the territorial integrity of the Pueblos and offered protection from outsiders. Where in other parts of America the Indian culture and territory were all displaced, in New Mexico they were protected.

In particular, they allowed the blending of cultures; and while de Vargas brought with him priests and Catholicism was established and proselytized in New Mexico, they continued to recognize and allow the unique Pueblo religion, which is why in New Mexico today, just about two miles north of my home at Sandia Pueblo, is one of the most beautiful, newest Catholic churches in New Mexico on Sandia Pueblo, which also has its own unique traditional religious rights.

The blending of cultures in New Mexico is one of the things that makes it unique. Po'Pay's revolt is one of the things that made that possible. It is with tremendous honor that this week we will offer this statue from the State of New Mexico and its people to the Capitol collection.

Madam Speaker, I congratulate the New Mexico delegation and urge the House to approve this resolution placing a second statue honoring a New Mexico citizen in Statuary Hall. I must take this opportunity as well to urge the House to do the same for the District of Columbia. Our citizens do not have even one statue. Surely, the time is overdue for the District to receive at least this small recognition of our citizenship for all to see.

The District of Columbia was born with the Nation itself. The city has more than two centuries of its very own rich and uniquely American history. The District boasts distinguished figures in history from whom selections for statues could readily be made. It should go without saying that the almost 600,000 American citizens who live in the Nation's capital deserve the honor of having two of their history makers represented in the Capitol as citizens of New Mexico and all 50 States have long enjoyed. D.C. residents have not yet obtained the same full political equality and voting rights as States, but they have always had every one of the responsibilities of the States, including paying all Federal taxes and serving in all wars. Every time we allow the District to be excluded from its place among the 50 States, we undermine our own leadership role for democracy around the world. Authorizing two District statues has special importance for our residents because the statues would be seen by millions of visitors every year, reinforcing our proud citizenship and unity with other Americans, whose historical figures are commemorated.

A bill for the District has failed to get the necessary word from the Speaker, which is necessary for hearings, despite my request and the written request from Leader Pelosi. Yet, this recognition for the District of Columbia, whose citizens are serving our country as I speak, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and throughout the world is no more controversial--nor should it be--than the New Mexico bill.

New Mexico and its citizens deserve this honor and get it simply because they are American citizens. As we pass this resolution for New Mexico and its citizens today, I ask the House to remember that we are all equal in this country, and that it is time that our legislature and the halls where these statues will stand reflected that equality.