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Show The Zunis "notify" the sheriff of the time of the pilgrimage and then the officers stay out of sight and stop traffic at either end of the length of road where the Zunis pass. The Sheriffs Department has done this every four years since he has been in office. He thinks his father, who was sheriff for 12 years, also did it-his name is Edgar Merrill and he lives in Eagar. According to Mr. Udall, there have been only minor problems in the past. One year the Zunis left a gate open and one year they used vehicles, but that didn't work and they stopped that practice. When Earl Piatt asked to have the Zunis arrested, Steve Udall advised the Sheriff that he believed the Zunis held an easement by prescription along the route to Kolhu/wala:wa. He concluded that there would not be criminal charges filed through his office. The law requires use for only ten years and the Zunis have been doing this over the past 400 years, according to Mr. Udall. He and the sheriff both discussed the situation. Further, Mr. Udall stated his belief that the Zunis should have freedom to practice their religion. 251 Jay Piatt Jay Piatt grew up in the Saint Johns area and is currently part owner in the Seven Springs Ranch, just acquired by the Zuni Tribe. Much of the area directly around Kolhu/wala:wa is in the Seven Springs Ranch, which was once was owned by the Tucker Livestock Company and was acquired by his grandfather, father, and two uncles about 1940. Mr. Piatt reported that he saw the pilgrimage once when 251. Udall, Steve Interview (telephone) by E. Richard Hart June 25, 1986, Saint Johns, Arizona (Udall) and Albuquerque, New Mexico (Hart). - 180 - |
