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Earth Day’s NM Roots; BernCo Transparency Mess

This week on New Mexico in Focus, Our Land’s Laura Paskus sits down for a two-part discussion with Arturo Sandoval, one of the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970. In the first half of their conversation, Sandoval tells us about his role in putting together the first event and takes a step back to look at how it has since changed. Later, the two talk broadly about the concept of colonization, how it has defined the world around us and observe how it is intertwined within capitalism. 

In 2016, the pueblo of Santa Ana paid $30 million for 60,000 acres of their own ancestral lands — land that had been privatized and then grazed for more than a century. Now, they’re using traditional knowledge and western science to protect Tamya Kwii Kee Nee Puu for traditional uses. In this preview of an Our Land Special, airing on NMPBS on April 25, Laura Paskus visits Tamaya Kwii Kee Nee Puu. 

Executive Producer Jeff Proctor talks to Melanie Majors, executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, about new allegations of state transparency law violations against Bernalillo County commissioners. During their interview, Proctor asks why public business should always be conducted with the door open. 

This fall, the Rio Grande corridor will be planted with thousands of milkweed plants. Thanks in part to students from Sandia High School who put aside their textbooks for pots of soil and seeds. The “River for Monarchs” project is meant to help restore the Rio Grande’s habitat and make the land more hospitable for the monarch butterfly. 

Host: Jeff Proctor

Segments: 
Earth Day’s New Mexican Roots 
Correspondent: Laura Paskus 
Guest: Arturo Sandoval, Founding Director, Center of Southwest Culture 

Arturo Sandoval on How Colonization and Capitalism are Connected 
Correspondent: Laura Paskus 
Guest: Arturo Sandoval, Founding Director, Center of Southwest Culture 

An Our Land Special Preview: Ancestral Connections 
Correspondent: Laura Paskus 

NM FOG Alleges BernCo Commissioners Violated State Sunshine Law 
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor 
Guest:  Melanie Major, Executive Director, New Mexico Foundation for Open Government 

River for Monarchs: Sandia High School Seed Workshop 
Correspondents: Tara Walch & Michael Kamins