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Corps of Engineers tribal nations experts visit Acoma Pueblo

Beverley Hayes (left), USACE national manager for the Flood Plain Management and Planning Assistance to States programs, talks with Acoma Pueblo Lt. Gov. Mark Thompson during a USACE Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise visit at Acoma. Hayes met with Thompson during the visit to talk about how the programs that Hayes manages and other USACE programs can provide assistance to Acoma Pueblo.

Beverley Hayes (left), USACE national manager for the Flood Plain Management and Planning Assistance to States programs, talks with Acoma Pueblo Lt. Gov. Mark Thompson during a USACE Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise visit at Acoma. Hayes met with Thompson during the visit to talk about how the programs that Hayes manages and other USACE programs can provide assistance to Acoma Pueblo.

ACOMA PUEBLO, N.M. – Tribal nations specialists with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tribal Nations Technical Center of Expertise visited with Acoma Pueblo senior officials here, July 15.

Dr. Ron Kneebone, director, TNTCX, and Beverley Hayes, who works for the TNTCX and the Albuquerque District, spoke with Acoma Pueblo Lt. Gov. Mark Thompson after an in-depth tour of the pueblo.

Hayes is the USACE national manager for the Flood Plain Management and Planning Assistance to States programs.

“I wanted Ms. Hayes to meet Lt. Gov. Thompson at Acoma Pueblo in order to inform him of programs Ms. Hayes manages,” said Kneebone. “We believe that her programs, along with several other USACE programs, can provide some much needed assistance to Acoma Pueblo and to other Tribal Nations.”

Hayes said it’s important to bring her Corps of Engineers expertise to tribes, and other underserved communities in order to cooperatively address water resources concerns.

“In addition to addressing water related issues in ways that reflect the values of the tribes, we have the opportunity to build healthy, respectful relationships that serve both tribes and the Corps of Engineers,” Hayes said.

Acoma Pueblo resides approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque. It is comprised of four villages: Acomita, Anzac, McCartys, and Old Acoma – also referred to as Sky City. Old Acoma is built entirely on top of a mesa, which is an area of elevated land with a flattened top. Mesas are very common in the Southwest.

Historical records document that the inhabitants of Acoma have lived there for 2,000 years. A sign in the Acoma Museum states that it is the oldest inhabited community in the United States.