By LEAH MOUNTAIN
Daughter of Indian Affairs nominee James R. Mountain

Dear Chairwoman and Members of the New Mexico State Senate Rules Committee and to whom anyone else it may concern,

I am Leah Mountain and I am submitting this letter in support of the Confirmation of James R. Mountain for Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Indian Affairs Department. I am proud of Governor Lujan Grisham for having the courage to bring this nomination forward. I am proudly the daughter of James Mountain and the granddaughter of Jay Mountain, who also served as San Ildefonso Governor. I am a strong-willed, educated Native American woman and I am proud of my heritage, culture and upbringing. I am also proud to have been raised and still live at San Ildefonso Pueblo where I can run for Council and even be elected Governor as a Native Woman, where that isn’t possible or available to other Indigenous Women.

I am definitely not here to tell you my dad’s side or my mom’s side. I am here to tell you my story, my truth, my life…

There are many reasons why I stand in support of my father for this position. While me being his daughter seemingly makes my statements biased, it also makes me the most qualified to speak on some of the issues you will consider regarding his confirmation. To begin, my dad, James Mountain, has raised my brother and I as a single parent and has been a devoted and committed parent. He has taught me my values through example and has instilled a cultural identity in me. He has taught me to be an independent woman. He has always loved me and always has been there for me.

My mother left and she chose to miss out on the greatest years of my life. She chose that. He chose to stay. He chose to raise a young woman. A young woman who not only grew up in one world, but two. A world of westernized society and a world where her culture is rich and the women are sacred. And when these two worlds collide it is not easy for an indigenous pueblo woman to grow up in, yet, much less succeed.

My father is the definition of a real man. He and I had conversations that are not easy for a man to have with a young woman. Conversations I should have had with my mom. He made sacrifices that mothers make for their daughters, he taught me things that mothers should teach their daughters. He did that. Not anybody else, and definitely not her. He did it. So for you to have your opinion in this matter… that’s all it is, an opinion. No one can or will tell me who my father is.

I saw my dad pick up the pieces that crumbled him and our family. We could have moved and lived obscurely somewhere never having to deal with this stigma. Instead, he moved us to the Pueblo and to one of the smallest environments possible. There, he built himself back up and was for a second time elected Governor of the Pueblo. I could be an ashamed, timid, afraid woman of color right now. Instead and largely because of my father, I am a confident, aspiring, bold Native American woman. Thank you, dad. I may never and wouldn’t have expressed my appreciation for what you’ve done and meant to me, Trisdan, and Jowan. I love you and also thank you for being my rock my whole life. I hope the people who make this decision see your story have humility as they consider you for this Cabinet Secretary position. Either way, please know I will always be your supporter like you have been mine.

To those of you who may not know, it is mine and my brother’s mother who made the allegations against my father that have been the stigma we have all worn for so many years. I can’t tell you how difficult it has been for my brother and me to have been involved in such allegations, and that on top of all that, it was our mother who made them. While it pains me to speak of my mother this way, it has been painful for only half of this story to be told. My mother has been in and out of prison for the last five years and has only recently been released hopefully for good. So not only has she not been involved in my life and has been responsible for making our lives more difficult with these false and unproven allegations but has further hurt us by her additional actions resulting in multiple incarcerations. I cannot express how difficult it is for me to speak to strangers about this, but who am I if I don’t stand up and tell the truth, not to hurt my mother but to be fair to my dad.

Speaking of fairness. To all of those who have spoken out against my father’s appointment, where you are working for women’s causes especially indigenous women, I hope you continue to do this important work. But, I also ask that you listen to my story, my dad’s story, our story, and apply justice fairly and to do so in your future work.

Thank you for listening to me, members of the committee. I ask who stands in front of me or above me to not do anything other than to affirm James R. Mountain. He is a good man, an honest man and a man that deserves this appointment. I promise you there is no one better to fill this position.