Santa Fe Indian School demolition goes on with little explanation

School says buildings razed to remove 'imminent health, safety, security threats'

Julie Ann Grimm | The New Mexican

7/29/2008 - 7/30/08

Demolition continued Tuesday at the Santa Fe Indian School, leaving the majority of the buildings that face Cerrillos Road looking like a war zone.

What's been happening at the school since this weekend is not clear, however. Since the All Indian Pueblo Council owns the facility and is a sovereign entity, neither state, federal nor local permits or reviews apply, those officials say.

Area residents near the Cerrillos Road school woke up Saturday to the sounds of destruction. Several small houses near the road were demolished before noon. Now, many of the larger buildings further west on the property are coming down.

School officials issued a brief statement Tuesday but declined to answer questions. "After completing various assessments over the past 5 years, the Santa Fe Indian School exercised its sovereign authority and due diligence to take action by demolishing buildings to remove the imminent health, safety, and security threats to protect the students and staff of SFIS, including the general public," it reads.

Gil Vigil, governmental liaison for the school, said he was not authorized to say how many buildings were torn down or what, if anything, would be built on the site.

Neither the state Office of Indian Affairs nor the Environment Department had information about the demolition Tuesday. "We are involved in funding capital-outlay projects at the school, for example their athletic fields and their dorms, but we are not involved at all at the project-management level on the ground," said Rima Kriss, a spokeswoman for Indian Affairs.

Kriss said she was surprised to see the demolition this weekend as she drove by the school with her son. She said she was not sure whether any permits were required or obtained by the school.

"These are issues of sovereignty, and it does get very complicated," she said. "The state is not involved."

No money has been paid through her agency for demolition, said Kriss.

Some in the community have expressed concern the buildings likely contained asbestos and no precautions were taken to minimize its effects on air quality and human health.

Environment Department spokeswoman Marissa Stone said her office could advise the school in that regard, but had no involvement in the demolition. She referred questions about possible asbestos there to the federal Environmental Protection Agency and said the school "should have its own air-quality program."

"Secretary Curry plans to send a letter to school administrators offering our assistance monitoring any issues with asbestos or other concerns the site. The Environment Department has no jurisdiction of the school, which is on federal trust land, however, we regulate landfills within state jurisdiction that will accept that waste. We plan to ensure that waste is handled and disposed of properly," she wrote.

Tressa Tillman, a Dallas-based EPA spokeswoman, referred questions to the state.

"Usually tribes conduct their own environmental programs," she said Tuesday. "We usually work with tribes from a partnership perspective, not from an enforcement perspective."

Although the city issues permits for demolition within the city limits, that's not true in the case of the Indian School. A handful of city residents have contacted the city with questions about the scene and its historic significance, including concerns that no building materials or furnishings appear to have been recycled. But they get the same answer about the city's level of involvement, according to Laura Banish, city spokeswoman. "It's zero, zilch. We have no jurisdiction," she said.

The Indian School has not used the buildings in question often, if at all, in recent years. In 2002, it kicked off a $50 million building and renovation project that resulted in the construction of new dormitories, science buildings, athletic fields and other facilities. Some historic houses dated to the school's founding in the 1890s. Others were constructed later. A sign in front of the school advertises a "wellness center" coming soon.

Late Tuesday, heavy equipment continued to chomp at buildings, and furniture was visible inside the upper stories of several buildings. Piles of wood, brick and other debris from what appeared to be about a dozen buildings were visible on the Cerrillos Road side of the school between Baca and Second streets.

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.