Pueblo leader takes Sandias case to D.C.(Evening)

Byline: Ollie Reed Jr. oreed@abqtrib.com / 823-3619

Stuwart Paisano, governor of Sandia Pueblo, was to sit down today in front of a joint meeting of U.S. Senate committees in Washington, D.C., and talk about nothing less than saving the identity of his people.

Paisano was to testify this afternoon before the Indian Affairs Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a hearing on a bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a Silver City Democrat.

The bill is an attempt to resolve the dispute over Sandia Pueblo's claim to the west face of the Sandia Mountains.

Before leaving for Washington this week, Paisano called it the single most important issue facing his pueblo.

"This mountain is part of our culture, history and religion," Paisano said during a phone interview. "Without it, we are missing key elements of our beliefs. It is important to our future generations."

What's at stake is 9,890 acres of Cibola National Forest on …