Editing Tijeras, New Mexico (section)

==History==

Tijeras was part of the [[Carnuel, New Mexico|Carnuel]] [[land grant]], created in 1763 to defend Albuquerque from the raids of [[Comanche]], [[Kiowa]], and [[Plains Apache]] [[Native Americans of the United States|American Indians]]. The village is located in [[Tijeras Canyon]], a strategic and natural corridor between the nomadic Indians of the [[Great Plains]] and the Spanish settlements in the [[Rio Grande]] valley. Nineteen men<ref>Akins, Nancy J. (2004), "Excavations at San Antonio de Padul (LA 24, NM 14, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, ''Museum of New Mexico: Office of Archaeological Studies, Archaeology Notes 293, p. 135</ref> some with families, comprised the first settlers at Carnuel. They were mostly from the lower [[castas]] of Spanish society, "coyotes" and [[genizaros]] (Indians who lived among the Spanish and had adopted some elements of Hispanic culture). For the coyotes and genizaros the attraction to settle in the Tijeras area was the opportunity to own land through the land grant from the New Mexican government.<ref>Gonzales, Moises (Winter 2014), "The Genizaro Land Grant Settlements of New Mexico," ''Journal of the Southwest,'' Vol. 56, No. 4., pp 591-592. Downloaded from [[JSTOR]].</ref>

Apache raiders killed several people in the area and the survivors abandoned the land grant area in 1771. The [[Mescalero|Mescalero Apache]] name for Tijeras canyon is '''Nakai'e Naagishuł''' or "Mexican they dragged".<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://catalog.libraries.psu.edu/catalog/8740780 |title=From the land of ever winter to the American Southwest: Athapaskan migrations, mobility, and ethnogenesis |date=2012 |publisher=University of Utah Press |isbn=978-1-60781-175-6 |editor-last=Seymour |editor-first=Deni J. |location=Salt Lake City}}</ref> The Tijeras area was resettled in 1819 by descendants of the original settlers plus additional landless [[mestizos]]. By that time New Mexico had made peace with the Comanche and the threat to the eastern frontiers of the colony had decreased, making the settlement feasible. The genizaro heritage continued to influence land and water usage rights in the Carnuel land grant into the 21st century.<ref>Gonzales, p. 592</ref><ref>Akins, p. 135</ref>