Cochiti Pueblo is the first tribe in New Mexico to sign a cooperative management agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The tribe will co-manage the Cochiti Lake Recreation Area. The Army Corps build a dam and lake entirely within reservation boundaries in the 1960s and 1970s.

The tribe lost valuable farmland due to flooding and seepage. Tribal leaders hope the new agreement will help address future issues.

"A quarter of a century of farming and culture was lost, affecting an entire generation of children," Joseph Henry Suina, a council member said, The Santa Fe New Mexican reported. "We are desperately trying to get back our way of life and teach our children to pass on our traditions."

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Cochiti Pueblo to help manage lake area (The Santa Fe New Mexican 6/24)