Cases in Context – 2024-03: Montoya v. Bolack, 1962-NMSC-073
Supreme Court Case Number: 7103
Parties:
• Joe A. Montoya, Appellant
• Tom Bolack, Appellee
Counsel:
• Bigbee & Stephenson and Santiago E. Campos, for Appellant
• A. T. Hannett, M. W. Hamilton, and Robert E. Fox, for Appellee
• Willard F. Kitts, William C. Schaab, and William A. Brophy, for New Mexico Civil Liberties Union, as amicus curiae0F1
• Norman M. Littell, Joseph F. McPherson, and Walter F. Wolf, Jr., for Navajo Tribe, as amicus curiae
Justices:
• Justice David W. Carmody (Opinion’s author)
• Justice David Chavez, Jr.
• Justice Irwin S. Moise
• District Judge Luis E. Armijo (sitting in for Chief Justice James C. Compton)
• Justice M. E. Noble (Special Concurrence’s1F2 author)
Holding: The New Mexico Supreme Court decided Navajo Indians residing on the reservation within the boundaries of the State of New Mexico were eligible to vote in state elections, so long as they complied with statutory voting requirements. Montoya v. Bolack, 1962-NMSC-073, ¶¶ 1, 30.
Case Summary:
Joe A. Montoya and Tom Bolack were opposing candidates for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico in the 1960 General Election. Bolack, supra, ¶ 2. When Bolack was certified as the winner, Montoya filed a “notice of contest” in trial court to challenge the election results on several grounds, including the legality of votes cast by people residing and voting in the part of “the Navajo Reservation in San Juan and McKinley Counties.” Id. ¶¶ 1-2. The trial court dismissed Montoya’s notice of contest and this appeal followed.
The New Mexico Supreme Court framed the legal question this case presented as whether “Navajo Indians residing on the reservation are eligible to vote.” Id. ¶ 1. Two New Mexico laws analyzed in the Opinion are Article VII, § 1 of the state constitution, which discusses voter qualifications, and NMSA 1953, § 3-1-1, a statute discussing the same. Id. ¶¶ 5-6. The Court noted that both laws “must be considered in the light of the treaty between the United States and the Navajo Indians,” which defined the borders of the Navajo Nation. Id. ¶ 6; see also Treaty Between the United States of America and the Navajo Tribe of Indians, U.S.-Navajo, June 1, 1868, 15 Stat. 667.
In its analysis, the Court reviewed New Mexico case law first, but found no previous rulings on this issue. Bolack, supra, ¶ 7. Next, the Court looked to case law from other states, including Arizona, which it deemed persuasive. Id. ¶ 22. Ultimately, though, the New Mexico Supreme Court concluded that the case before it “must, of necessity, be determined . . . upon the pronouncements of the Supreme Court of the United States.” Id.
In Organized Village of Kake v. Egan, 369 U.S. 60 (1962), a case originating in Alaska, the U.S. Supreme Court had recently stated that “state laws may be applied to Indians unless such application would interfere with reservation self-government or . . . federal law.” Id. ¶ 26 (internal quotation marks omitted). In the same case, the U.S. Supreme Court also discussed “the disclaimer portion” of the Alaska Statehood Act, comparing it to portions in other statehood acts, including the one admitting New Mexico. Id. ¶ 27. The “disclaimer portion” of such acts “govern[ed] the jurisdiction of States over Indian property.” Id. The New Mexico Supreme Court noted that the U.S. Supreme Court had interpreted this portion of the Alaska Act as being “a disclaimer of proprietary rather than governmental interest.” Id. (internal quotation marks omitted) (emphasis in original). The New Mexico Supreme Court extended this interpretation to its jurisdiction, stating that “the Navajo Indian Reservation is not a completely separate entity existing outside of the political and governmental jurisdiction of the State of New Mexico.” Id. ¶ 29.
In addition, the New Mexico Supreme Court found “nothing in [the] [state] constitution or in the statutes which prohibits an Indian from voting in a proper election, provided he fulfills the statutory requirements required of any other voter.” Id. ¶ 30. Consequently, the Court found “no prohibition to the location of polling places [on the reservation].” Id. Finally, the Court deferred to the New Mexico Legislature for policy “as to any persons, not just Indians, who wish to participate in [state] elections, but who . . . are not responsible to [state] officials or [state] laws.” Id. ¶ 31.
In conclusion, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s decision to dismiss Montoya’s notice of contest. Id. ¶¶ 4, 36.
In his Special Concurrence, Justice Noble agreed with the Opinion, but made one distinction. Id. ¶ 37. He “d[id] not think that the construction placed on the disclaimer provision of the Alaska statehood act [wa]s controlling as to the disclaimer provision of the New Mexico Enabling Act.” Id. ¶ 42.
Sources for Further Reading:
• Montoya v. Bolack, 1962-NMSC-073, 70 N.M. 196, 372 P.2d 387, https://nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsc/en/item/378259/index.do.
• Treaty Between the United States of America and the Navajo Tribe of Indians, U.S.-Navajo, June 1, 1868, 15 Stat. 667, https://www.loc.gov/resource/llsalvol.llsal_015/?sp=8&st=slideshow.
• Willard Hughes Rollings, Citizenship and Suffrage: The Native American Struggle for Civil Rights in the American West, 1830-1965, 5 Nev. L.J. 126 (2004).
1 Amicus Curiae: “Someone who is not a party to a lawsuit, but who petitions the court or is requested by the court to file a brief in the action because that person has a strong interest in the subject matter. — Often shortened to amicus. — Also termed friend of the court.” Amicus curiae, Black’s Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024).
2 Concurrence: “A vote cast by a judge in favor of the judgment reached, often on grounds differing from those expressed in the opinion or opinions explaining the judgment.” Concurrence, Black’s Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024).
♦♦♦♦♦
“ A native of Denver, Justice Carmody spent nearly 40 years of his life in public service in New Mexico- as an assistant district attorney, , district attorney, district judge, Supreme Court Justice, and as delegate to the 1969 New Mexico Constitutional Convention. Carmody became a justice of the state Supreme Court Jan. 1, 1959, was chief justice in 1965-1966 and was re-elected to the court in 1966 for an eight-year term. He retired from the court in the spring of 1969 for reasons of health. He was having problems with his eyes at the time.”
Justice Carmody Service Saturday, Albuquerque Journal, April 27, 1976 Page 16
Joe A. Montoya
State legislator from 1943-1952 for District 7, Bernallio. He worked as an auditor in Albuquerque. He was born in Flagstaff in 1910, attended the University of Arizonia, and the Albuquerque business college. He served in the state House from 1942 to 1946, and the state Senate from 1948 to 1952.
New Mexico Blue Book, 1949-1950
Montoya Demo Power; Mechem, Bolack Strong, Farmington Daily Times, May 13, 1960
New Mexico Blue Book, 1949-1950
Montoya Demo Power; Mechem, Bolack Strong, Farmington Daily Times, May 13, 1960
Thomas Felix Bolack
Born on May 18th, 1918 in Cowley County, Kansas. He was raised on a farm and later became an oil worker. Eventually, he was sinking his own wells. His oil business was highly successful and established oil production in the San Juan Basin. He later started ranching, running the B-Square Ranch which would grow to 12,000 acres.
Bolack was elected mayor of Farmington in 1952. This was the beginning of his political career. He was elected to the New Mexico House of representatives (1956-1958), served as Lieutenant Governor (1960-1962), and was governor of the state from November 30,1962 – January 1, 1963.
In 1938 Bolack bought the Albuquerque Dukes baseball team, which he sold to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1964. Previously he had provided the Dodgers with Navajo Willows which were planted near the stadium.
“In 1973, Tom was severely injured, but survived as he and his pickup went over a 300-foot drop when it accidentally rolled off a canyon rim where he was posting 'No Hunting' signs. A stroke in 1985 forced him to spend most of his time in a wheelchair, but he still had sufficient upper body strength and mobility to hunt and fish.
On May 20,1998, Governor Bolack passed away but his passing did not go without notice. As Time Magazine was to report later, “The ashes of former New Mexico Governor Tom Bolack were launched skyward with his family's Fourth of July fireworks.”
Dodgers Take Over Dukes’ Franchise—Officially. Albuquerque Tribune, April 1, 1964
Tom Bolack: A Modern Johnny Appleseed (New Mexico History)
Walter Wolf, Jr. (Navajo tribe, amici curie)
“For the past 60 years, Walter Wolf, Jr., worked on behalf of the (NTUA). His story began when he was hired as a young attorney hired to serve as legal counsel to the Navajo Nation leadership. Mr. Wolf was given the task to undertake the creation of the NTUA. At the time, it was a small tribal department. There were no electric customers and it was primarily a water operations branch. Energy distribution was an unexplored possibility for Navajo leaders. It seemed completely out of reach – until Walter presented to Navajo leaders a plan whereby they can create tribal utility system….
“Once we got started in the distribution business, we knew our work would be difficult and challenging. But we knew it had to be done,” Mr. Wolf once said. “There are still so many families without electricity. What we started in the 1959 hasn’t changed today. Our important work is far from over.”
In 1965, NTUA took over its first distribution line from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He was at the negotiation table then. In recent years, he took his place at another negotiation table. That’s NTUA began talks to acquire Rocky Mountain Power (RMP) service territory in southeastern Utah region. In that area, hundreds of families were waiting for more than 50 years to get electricity.
“It was without question that he served NTUA and the Navajo Nation immeasurably. He was one of the few real champions for the Navajo people. His achievements were many. For more than 60 years he helped us advance NTUA, in doing so, benefiting the Navajo people,” said NTUA General Manager Walter Haase.
In 2015, Walter Wolf, Jr. was a recipient of the American Public Power Association James D. Donovan Individual Achievement Award which recognizes people who have made substantial contributions to the electric utility industry with a special commitment to public power.”
In 2005, NTUA presented Walter Wolf Jr., with the “Friend of NTUA and the Navajo People Award”. It was the first ever certificate awarded to an individual. It was presented with the gratitude, thanking Walter for his devoted work and numerous contributions to the development of NTUA.”
Read the full post: NTUA Mourns Passing of... - Navajo Tribal Utility Authority | Facebook
Association on American Indian Affairs
The Association was founded when three organizations, The Eastern Association on Indian Affairs and the New Mexican Association on American Indian joined efforts in 1922 to oppose the Bursum and the Leavitt Bills.
“The bill threatened an estimated 60,000 acres of Pueblo Homelands and jurisdiction of Pueblo water rights. After successful defeat of the Bursum Bill the Association supported the development of legislation that protected Pueblo Lands with the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924. ”- Story of the Association
The three organizations became the Association in the 1930s and has worked to fight for indigenous culture, rights, and health. They were involved in the return of Blue Lake and Taos Mountain to Taos Pueblo in 1970. The Association is still very active.
Read more:
Cara Wong and Grace Cho, 2006. "Jus Meritum Citizenship for Service," Transforming Politics, Transforming America
McCool, Daniel, Native vote : American Indians, the Voting Rights Act, and the right to vote, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Morelle, Joseph, Report on voting for Native peoples : barriers and policy solutions. United States. Congress. House. Committee on House Administration, 2024
Venturini, Carol A. The fight for Indian voting rights in New Mexico, University of New Mexico (Thesis), 1993.
Wilkins, David E. Lomawaima, K. Tsianina, Uneven ground : American Indian sovereignty and federal law, Oklahoma Press, 2001.
Cara Wong and Grace Cho, 2006. "Jus Meritum Citizenship for Service," Transforming Politics, Transforming America.
The Navajo Nation (Navajo: Naabeehó Bináhásdzo)
The Navajo Nation is the homeland of the Diné people. The area was designated by the Treaty with the Navajo Indians, June 1, 1868. Four years previously the Navajo and Mescalero Apache were forced to walk east to Bosque Redondo (Ft. Sumner). The 300 mile march and internment led to the deaths of thousands of people due to starvation.
With the signing of the treaty the Diné returned to the 3.5 million acres described in the treaty. Over time the people worked to increase the size of the reservation to over 16 million acres.
(Photo: Barboncito or Hastiin Dághaaʼ was leader of the Navajo people and signed the 1868 treaty ending the Long Walk of the Navajo.)
"The Navajo Nation extends into the states of Utah , Arizona and New Mexico , covering over 27,000 square miles of unparalleled beauty. Diné Bikéyah, or Navajoland, is larger than 10 of the 50 states in America.
Today, the Navajo Nation is striving to sustain a viable economy for an ever increasing population that now surpasses 250,000. In years past, Navajoland often appeared to be little more than a desolate section of the Southwest, but it was only a matter of time before the Navajo Nation became known as a wealthy nation in a world of its own. The discovery of oil on Navajoland in the early 1920's promoted the need for a more systematic form of government.
In 1923, a tribal government
was established to help meet the increasing desires of American oil companies to lease Navajoland for exploration. Navajo government has evolved into the largest and most sophisticated form of American Indian government. The Navajo Nation Council Chambers hosts 88 council delegates representing 110 Navajo Nation chapters." -https://www.navajo-nsn.gov/History
Navajo Nation Census Data (2020 Census)
Population
165,158
Employment rate
37.3%
Median Household Income
$33,592
Code Talkers
World War II’s Navajo Code Talkers, In Their Own Words
Code Talkers from 14 different Native American nations served in World War I and World War II, including over 400 Navajo Marines during World War II. After the war, the Japanese chief of intelligence acknowledged they never broke the Navajo code. The original 29 Navajo Marine Code Talkers were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2001. The Veterans History Project maintains oral history interviews from more than 20 Navajo Code Talkers.
Books:
Peterson Zah
"Peterson Zah, a revered figure in the Navajo Nation, dedicated his life to influencing hundreds of young Navajo people, who did not incline toward politics, to think deeply of the future of the Navajo Nation through the power of their votes."
Book: We will secure our future : empowering the Navajo nation.
Annie Dodge Wauneka
"Annie Dodge Wauneka, tribal leader of the Navajo Nation and public health activist, worked tirelessly to improve the health and welfare of the Navajo Tribe and reduce the incidence of tuberculosis nationwide."
Book: I'll go and do more : Annie Dodge Wauneka, Navajo leader and activist
Clitso Dedman
"Dedman was born to a traditional Navajo family in Chinle, Arizona, and herded sheep as a child. He was educated in the late 1880s and early 1890s at the Fort Defiance Indian School, then at the Teller Institute in Grand Junction, Colorado. After graduation Dedman moved to Gallup, New Mexico, where he worked in the machine shop of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway before opening his first of three Navajo trading posts in Rough Rock, Arizona. After tragedy struck his life in 1915, he moved back to Chinle and abruptly changed careers to become a blacksmith and builder."
Book: Clitso Dedman, Navajo carver : his art and his world
Yazzie family
"Lee, now 68, his brother Raymond, 55, sister Mary Marie, 71, and many of their siblings, children and grandchildren carry on the tradition of Navajo jewelry-making both as support for their families and as a fine art."
Book: Glittering world : Navajo jewelry of the Yazzie family
Carl N. Gorman
"Gorman was an outstanding artist who broke the mold in Indian art. Never forgetting who he was - a Navajo with a proud history and tradition - Carl was not afraid to experiment with the raw power and imagery of his traditional Navajo world combined with the "refined and proper" world of western art. After serving as a Navajo Code Talker in World War II, Carl studied at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, California on his GI Bill where he formally studied the masters of Europe."
Book: Power of a Navajo : Carl Gorman : the man and his life
David Chethlahe Paladin
"As a child on the Navajo Reservation I was encouraged to accept the validity of my dreams and visions. As an artist, I continue to draw upon that dream reality; it is the wellspring of my creativity."
Book: Painting the dream : the visionary art of Navajo painter David Chethlahe Paladin.
Christine Nofchissey McHorse
"McHorse's work has an elegance and sophistication that defy stereotypes about folk art and traditional Native American art. McHorse began to make traditional Navajo pottery when she was in her late twenties. Having grown up off the reservation, she was introduced to the pottery craft by Lena Archuleta, her husband's grandmother. "
Book: Dark light : the ceramics of Christine Nofchissey McHorse
Clara Sherman
"As a master spinner, Sherman is widely credited with keeping ancient Navajo weaving techniques alive- by continuing to create rugs with geometric patterns using only wool's natural colors and textures." Pasatiempo, September 15, 2006 Page 114
Reagan Wytsalucy, How a Navajo Scientist Is Helping to Restore Traditional Peach Horticulture
Fred Begay (NASA)
"Begay's accomplishments are noteworthy by any standards: A doctorate degree in nuclear physics, experience on NASA's high-energy gamma ray project, teaching fellowships at Stanford University and the University of Maryland and a tenure of nearly 30 years in LANL's laser program."
Karletta Chief
"A hydrologist whose research focuses on climate change impacts on water resources and Indigenous people, Chief has worked with tribes including Diné (Navajo), Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Tohono O’odham Nation, Gila River Indian Community, the Indian Cooperative Extension, and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, among others."
Náníbaaʼ Garrison
"Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. She has appointments in the Institute for Society and Genetics, the Institute for Precision Health, and the Division of General Internal Medicine & Health Services Research. She is a teaching faculty for the UCLA genetic counseling master’s program."
Indigenous women find their stride in physics
"Elaina Saltclah, from the Red Mesa, Arizona area, near the Four Corners, first introduces herself in her native Navajo language, including the names of her clans. A Fort Lewis College student majoring in physics, with a minor in mathematics, and a young mother, Saltclah speaks with a self-assured smile, her confidence bolstered through participation in a novel program connecting students like her with a future in the daunting world of physics research." (photo: From left to right, Elaina Saltclah, Los Alamos graduate student Bade Sayki and Arielle Platero, a member of the first cohort of Indigenous Women in Physics pilot program and now in graduate school.)
Mechanical Engineer Aaron Yazzie (NASA)
"Being Navajo has shaped almost every single aspect of my life. Growing up, we were always taught that we should think of ways to be useful for our community. They encourage us to get an education and find ways that we can develop skills to help people back home."
(Photo: Highsmith, Carol M. Monument Valley, a Navajo Nation tribal park whose red-sandstone formations on the Colorado Plateau lie mostly in Arizona but also into Utah, LC-HS503- 5307)
Map base is from the National Map, overlay of Chapter By Seb az86556 - https://nv.wikipedia.org/wiki/E%CA%BCelyaa%C3%ADg%C3%AD%C3%AD:DB_t%C3%A1%C3%A1%27_naaznil_dabighan.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89458735
Grimes, Joel. Navajo : portrait of a nation. Englewood, CO : Westcliffe Publishers, c1992.
Lavin, Patrick. The Navajo nation : a visitor's guide. New York : Hippocrene Books, c2008.
Rosser, Ezra. A nation within : Navajo land and economic development. Cambridge University Press, 2021.