JEMEZ PUEBLO — Indian Country and the entire United States suffer from many of the same problems, and 6 1/2 years of bad policymaking require taking a new path, Benny Shendo Jr. said Thursday in announcing his run for Congress.

The war in Iraq has taken money from domestic programs; the No Child Left Behind Act is an unfunded mandate that has hurt learning; and the war on terror has infringed on civil liberties, he told about 300 people at his pueblo's youth center, including several current and former governors of pueblos around the state, in what many said marked New Mexico's first congressional run by an American Indian.

"When families on the Navajo Reservation still haul water to meet everyday needs, live in homes with no electricity or heat and whose children attend dilapidated schools, something is wrong," he said. "Not far west from where we sit today, this is current reality."

Shendo, 43, who resigned last week as state Indian Affairs secretary to run for Northern New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District seat, called his campaign "a path uncharted, yet a path which our younger ones can one day travel with ease."

He started with greetings in his native Towa and went on to speak in Tewa, Keres, Tiwa, Jicarilla, Navajo, Spanish and English.

"I have been working toward something like this for 40 years," said Linda Yardley, a Democrat from Taos Pueblo who attended the announcement. "Benny is just a strong candidate, and he truly walks in both worlds."

Yardley also is a Democratic State Central Committee member, making her an automatic party delegate. Candidates hoping for a place on the June primary ballot must get the support of 20 percent of the delegates in the March pre-primary.

Yardley and many of Shendo's family members and friends pledged to fan out in the next few weeks across a district that covers 15 counties and is about 19 percent Indian.

Earlier, Shendo opened up the family home where he was born, and his parents, Benny Sr., a retired maintenance worker, and Mary Margaret, a retired teacher, and dozens of his family members shared stories. Shendo and his seven siblings raised crops such as chile, squash, melons, alfalfa and wheat in the Jemez Valley, and Shendo sold ristras during holiday breaks to help pay his expenses at the University of Colorado.

"I guess today it sort of baffles my mind that growing up, I never realized I was poor," he said.

Shendo, who has two children and two grandchildren, went on to become an administrator at Stanford University and The University of New Mexico and travel around the world. In 2004, not long after the Indian Affairs Department was formed, he became the first secretary confirmed by the Senate.

Shendo is among a growing field that has announced for the 3rd District spot being vacated by U.S. Rep. Tom Udall to run for the U.S. Senate. It includes Public Regulation Commission Chairman Ben Ray Luján, Santa Fe County Commissioner Harry Montoya and Santa Fe developer Don Wiviott.

Derrith Watchman-Moore, a Navajo and state Environment Department policy adviser, said she hopes to announce she's running this month.

Teresa Leger, a Santa Fe attorney, and Jon Adams, an Albuquerque lawyer who grew up in Los Alamos, are considering running for the Democratic nomination as well, while Marco Gonzales, a lawyer who worked for U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., might run for the Republican nomination.

Contact Doug Mattson at 986-3087 or dmattson@sfnewmexican.com.