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episode summary
In this episode of “Pass the Sopapillas,” host Manuel González sits down with Regis Pecos, former Governor of Cochiti Pueblo, longtime public policy leader, and co-founder and co-director of the Leadership Institute at the Santa Fe Indian School.
Pecos shares a defining story from his youth, when the construction of Cochiti Dam devastated lands, sacred places and a way of life central to his community. As anger and hopelessness took hold, his grandfather offered guidance that would shape the next four decades of Pecos’s life: never allow anger toward a perceived enemy to turn you into what you hate. Instead, learn to see even those who cause harm as teachers of compassion.
That lesson became a foundation for Pecos’s work in advocacy, education, repatriation, religious freedom, public policy and the return of ancestral lands. He also reflects on the power of Indigenous education, intergenerational relationships, faith, family and living according to core values.
Their conversation ultimately returns to forgiveness — not as forgetting harm, but as a powerful expression of accountability, healing, humanity and responsibility to future generations.
In the end, we’re all part of the same family of human beings.
Digging Deeper: Reflection Questions
In true New Mexico fashion, we invite you to a sobremesa — a traditional space for conversation and sharing, gathered around a table of your choice.
This conversation is an invitation.
There are no right answers — just stories, reflections and listening.
If you can, pass something around the table (a napkin, a candle, a sopapilla).
Whoever holds it speaks.
Ask around the table:
- Who taught you about where you come from?
- What is a story about your family or community that you want to make sure is remembered?
Ask around the table:
- What makes it difficult for people to talk honestly about race, identity and history?
- Have you ever learned something about another person’s experience that changed the way you understood your own?
- What can we do to create more spaces where people feel seen, heard and respected?
- What would a more connected and equitable New Mexico look like to you?
- Thank everyone for sharing and remember:
- Healing begins with listening.
- It asks us to tell the truth, make room for one another’s stories and build relationships across differences.
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