Thora Walsh Padilla sworn in as Mescalero Apache Tribe president
The Mescalero Apache Tribe's 2024 president and council were issued oaths of office on Jan. 12 by Tribal Court Judge Pamela Morgan, as each pledged to address issues that range from housing to education.
Alfred Lapaz, Caroline Blake, Idella Star and Robert Rice will serve on the council alongside newly elected President Thora Walsh Padilla and Vice President Duane Duffy.
Padilla replaces Bernalyn "Gina" Via and Duffy replaces Danny Breuninger. Outgoing council members are Owen Little and Marilyn Blaylock.
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Star, who is in her second term, said she wants to focus on education of the tribe's children.
"We do have a lot of things that need to be addressed and we are still trying to get it all situated," Star said. "Especially with the Head Start, we need to get a new Head Start going. It doesn't seem to be recognized. We finally got funding to do planning, so we are going forward with that."
Star is not the only council member who is eager to make improvements. Rice said he wants to work toward opening a drug detox center in Mescalero.
"It is not safe for people to detox on their own. There are a lot of hurdles for people to detox safely. We need to do better to help people with addiction," Rice said. "Too many times people end up going right back into the same environments. There is a huge need for mental health (services) ― suicide ideations, verbal and mental abuse."
He said he would also like to work toward building a shelter for the unhoused on tribal lands. Rice said he would like to see the fire department grow in Mescalero as the Tribe works to prevent and remediate forest fires that occur in Lincoln National Forest.
Duffy said he would like to focus on growth of career opportunities and jobs.
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"We tell our kids to go out and get an education and to come back and we'll have jobs for them. But when they come back, we have no jobs for them. We have to ensure for them that we have jobs for them, and well-paying jobs," Duffy said. "Our people are just as talented. We have to have to let that talent shine."
He said he has invested a lot of his time into renewal energy projects in order to lower electricity costs. The Mescalero Apache Resort and Casino spends over $3 million a year on electricity, according to Duffy.
"I am striving for economic development. When we build a strong economic foundation to develop these new businesses, we create new revenue streams, we build new houses, those jobs come," he said. "Without that business development and without those jobs, we will continue to stay idle and that is unacceptable. We have to move forward."
Padilla agreed with council members and the vice president on the myriad issues raised.
"We must work together for a brighter future. There is a need to streamline the organization of the Tribe to develop policies to protect the needs of our employees," she said. "I intend to focus on our youth to provide a variety of educational opportunities. We must meet the needs of all our youth, especially those with special needs."
Padilla wants to prioritize the construction of needed infrastructure, too.
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"I want to prioritize, to build homes for families, for the homeless. To promote economic development through the tribal council as well through individual tribal members," she said. "First and foremost, I want to rebuild the trust in our tribal council."
Padilla said she will work with the tribal council on making meetings easily accessible to the public to facilitate the exchange of concerns and solutions.
"To help improve the lives of our people we will be reaching out to our local communities. We will be reaching out to our state agencies, but we must remember to never relinquish our sovereignty," Padilla said.
Head Start teacher Marika Star said she wants to see change.
"I'd like to have our head starts more improved, new buildings, things with educational opportunities for the head start kids and teachers," Marika Star said. "Another thing that I liked and agreed with was with Robert Rice, I think we need more detox centers. More opportunities for people who do want to get out of their own personal hole."
Division of Resource Management and Protection employee Dalton Hamilton said the change in council members was needed.
"There just has not been enough done. I agree with Padilla that there needs to be more job opportunities. People travel too far to work on outside of the reservation," Hamilton said. "We just need more jobs and things to do here."
Both Hamilton and Star said housing should find immediate attention from the council.
"We need more housing. Housing needs to be available for many of our tribal members, or even the youth graduating school and preparing to move out of their home," Star said. "I just think more housing is needed."
"Hopefully they move forward with what they preached to us, as long as they go through with it. It may take one or two years, but that way at least whoever comes next can take over where they left off," Hamilton said.
Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on X, formerly Twitter at @Juan36Corr.
This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Mescalero Apache Tribe leaders vow change in 2024
