Miguel Trujillo

Miguel H. Trujillo (1904–1989) was an American activist from the Laguna Pueblo Native American tribe, who was instrumental to the case Trujillo v. Garley in 1948; before the case, New Mexico, like many other states, had a ruling that "Indians not taxed" were not legally allowed to vote. With the case Miguel successfully challenged this ruling.[1]

Early life

Miguel H. Trujillo was born on April 30, 1904, at the Pueblo of Isleta, in New Mexico to Juanita (née Jaramillo) and José Trujillo.[2]: 450 [3]: 57  José was a farmer, but died when Trujillo was seven years old, leaving Juanita to raise their four children. Both Trujillo and his older brother, Manuel, known as "Bob", took odd jobs to help until they were old enough to go to school.[3]: 57  He attended the Albuquerque Indian School until the tenth grade and then went to high school at the Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas.[2]: 450  Eventually, he earned a bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico.

He went on to serve in the US Marines during World War II.

Family

Trujillo married to Ruchanda Paisano and had two children who both went into the field of medicine, a daughter, Josephine Waconda, and a son, Michael Trujillo, the director of the Indian Health Service under President Bill Clinton.[4]

Native American vote in New Mexico

Prior to 1948, Native Americans living in New Mexico were disenfranchised. It was until after World War II that the returning veteran Miguel Trujillo started a legal and political campaign to advocate for the voice of Native Americans until those rights were extended.[5] Miguel, after returning as a Marine after the war, confronted the harsh reality that although he was a citizen and veteran, he was not allowed to vote in the country in which he had served.[6] Miguel was turned down by the county registrar Eloy Garley when he tried to register. Miguel sued him in the court case of Trujillo v. Garley, decided by a three-judge panel in Albuquerque. At the time, New Mexico, like many other states, had a ruling that "Indians not taxed' were not legally allowed to vote. The case successfully challenged this ruling.[7]

See also

References
  1. Oxford, Andrew (August 2, 2018). "It's been 70 years since court ruled Native Americans could vote in New Mexico". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2020-02-20.
  2. Chavers, Dean (2007). Modern American Indian Leaders: Their Lives and Their Work. Vol. 2. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press. ISBN 978-0-7734-5557-3.
  3. Sando, Joe S. (1998). "Miguel H. Trujillo, Isleta Pueblo". Pueblo Profiles: Cultural Identity through Centuries of Change (1st ed.). Santa Fe, New Mexico: Clear Light Publishers. pp. 57–62. ISBN 978-0-940666-39-9.
  4. Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1995: Office of Indian Education. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1994. p. 339.
  5. Shreve, Bradley, Dr. "Reclaiming their Voice: The Native American Vote in New Mexico and Beyond: Journal of American Indian Higher Education Journal of American Indian Higher Education." Tribal College, vol. 23, no. 4, 2012, pp. 53.ProQuest 1115393602.
  6. Rounsville, Sarah; University, Brigham Young. "Trujillo v. Garley: The Struggle for Native American Voting Rights". Intermountain Histories. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  7. Rounsville, Sarah; University, Brigham Young. "Trujillo v. Garley: The Struggle for Native American Voting Rights". Intermountain Histories. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
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