Pueblo of Isleta Tuei

The river that named the pueblo became the subject of a landmark case. When Congress let tribes act as states under the Clean Water Act in 1987, Isleta was the first to set its own water-quality standards, stricter than New Mexico's, for the Rio Grande through its land; the EPA approved them on December 24, 1992. Albuquerque, whose sewage plant discharges about five miles upstream, sued. On October 7, 1996, the Tenth Circuit upheld Isleta's standards, the first such challenge to a tribe's, and the Supreme Court declined to hear the city's appeal.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Pueblo of Isleta Túei This Southern Tiwa Pueblo is said to have derived its name from the frequent flooding of the Rio Grande, which surrounded the village, giving it the appearance of a little island. Isleta was noted for the excellence of its crops and orchards. The western branch of the Camino Real crossed the river north of here.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Petroglyph National Monument — 16 mi
  Some 24,000 images pecked into the dark basalt of Albuquerque's West Mesa, protected in 1990 and then crossed by a city boulevard.
• Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument — 31 mi
  Three Spanish mission churches raised over Tiwa and Tompiro pueblos east of the Manzano Mountains in the 1600s, each of its own stone, and one never finished.

More markers nearby

• Pueblo of Isleta — 1.0 mi
• Los Padillas — 3.2 mi
• Vásquez de Coronado's Route — 3.7 mi
• Peralta — 5.0 mi