Jicarilla Apache Reservation Centennial Highway

Nearly a century after the order on this panel, the reservation's oil and gas reached the Supreme Court. The tribe had leased land to oil companies since 1953, under a constitution first approved in 1937 and revised in 1968, and in 1976 it enacted its own severance tax on what the lessees took out. Twenty-one lessees sued. On January 25, 1982, in Merrion v. Jicarilla Apache Tribe, the Court held that the tax was an inherent power of the tribe's sovereignty and that the leases had not given it away.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Jicarilla Apache Reservation Centennial Highway During the 19th century, the United States government attempted to estab- lish reservations to separate Indian tribes from settlers along the frontier. The Jicarilla Apache initially agreed to settle on a reservation in 1851, but unratified treaties and local political squabbles hampered the process of ob- taining a reservation for 36 years. President Grover Cleveland finally issued the Executive Order which established a permanent home for the Jicarilla on February 11, 1887.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad — 23 mi
  A narrow-gauge steam railroad from Chama over 10,015-foot Cumbres Pass to Antonito, kept narrow because nobody ever thought it worth converting.

More markers nearby

• Jicarilla Apache (Tribe) — 1.0 mi
• Continental Divide — 15 mi
• Old Spanish Trail — 23 mi
• Chama — 23 mi