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JULY 26, 2000

Regis Pecos has formally stepped down as director of the New Mexico Office of Indian Affairs, a position which he held for more than 16 years.

The Commission accepted Pecos' resignation on Tuesday. Commission Chairman Walter Dasheno, former governor of Santa Clara Pueblo, reported last month that Pecos had submitted a letter stating his intent to resign.

Pecos' resignation closes a chapter in the life of the sometimes controversial leader, who hails from Cochiti Pueblo, where he has served twice as lieutenant governor. He has been criticized recently for several run-ins with tribal, state, and local law enforcement.

In March, he was charged in Santo Domingo Pueblo Tribal Court with drunken driving and careless driving. The tribe hasn't commented on the status of the charges against him, citing sovereign authority.

In May 1999, he was arrested by City of Santa Fe police on the grounds of the Santa Fe Indian School, which is owned by New Mexico's 19 Pueblos. They were responding to reports of an altercation during which Pecos appeared intoxicated, according to police

But the charges of resisting arrest and creating a disturbance were dismissed, due to a New Mexico District Court ruling in April which held that the school grounds are Indian Country and not subject to local or state jurisdiction.

Pecos also had his drivers license suspended in 1994 for more than 1 1/2 years.

The 19 Pueblos had asked for his resignation in June. But apparently, he had already submitted his letter of resignation in March.

Pecos is a graduate of Princeton University. In 1997, he became the first Native American ever to sit as an Ivy League school board trustee.