Albuquerque Journal from Albuquerque, New Mexico • Page 4

A4 The Sunday Journal Albuquerque, November 11, 2012 and even at a presidential inauguration before it dissolved in 1963. The band grew out of an unusual arrangement between the rail company and the pueblo that sent hundreds of Laguna men to work on the rails at the dawn of the 20th century. Instead of taking money for allowing the expanding railroad right of way through pueblo lands, Laguna and other pueblo leaders opted for jobs for pueblo members. Pueblo men moved with their families to work on the rails, and satellite communities grew up in Barstow and Richmond, in Gallup and in Winslow. Pueblo village life language, ceremonies and food was re-created in groupings of yellow boxcars the railroad set up as housing for the families.

When I sat down with two alums of the Santa Fe Railroad Indian Band in a coffee shop at Laguna Pueblo to reminisce about the band, I learned as much about the boxcar chapter of Laguna history as I did about Sousa marches. Julia Herrera is believed to be the oldest former member of the band. As I peppered her with questions about the ins and outs of traveling by rail with as many as 50 people and all of their instruments and uniforms she said, know, 88 years old, and I remember Actually, she remembered a lot: The names of men who played with her in the band; their tribal affiliations Zuni, Hopi, Isleta, Jemez, Santo Domingo, Pima and Navajo; and the details of the marching band uniform white A-line skirt for the ladies; crisp white slacks for the men, along with a velvet Navajo-style shirt, moccasins, loads of turquoise jewelry and a headband. The drum major wore a large feathered headdress, and one of treasured souvenirs is a color photograph of her, probably at age 16, taking a turn wearing it. It hangs on a bedroom wall in her home at the pueblo, as does her degree from Harvard University.

career after she graduated from Winslow High School in 1941 was in educational administration. When I asked to see her saxophone, Herrera gasped and said it was buried deep in her storage shed. played it for 50 she said. goddaughter, Mary Toya, joined the band when she was in high school and played the snare drum. tried clarinet, and I drove my mother up the wall with Toya, 77, told me.

said either learn it or quit. So I switched to the snare She played the drum alongside her father and brother, who both worked for the railroad and played the trumpet and trombone. The band got started because so many of the rail workers from Laguna and other tribes had been taught to play instruments when they went to school at the Albuquerque and Santa Fe Indian schools and Indian boarding schools throughout the country. Erickson recognized the potential of having a leisure activity at the boxcar village while also promoting the railroad to tourists with music. He arranged for rail workers to get time off with pay to travel to performances.

The band played Sunday concerts at La Posada hotel in Winslow and traveled on Pullman cars every year to New Mexico to perform at the Gallup Intertribal Ceremonial. biggest thrill was traveling to Washington, D.C., and representing Arizona in the 1953 parade at President Dwight D. inauguration. was an Toya said. never really been out of Winslow until I joined the Michael B.

Lucero of Isleta Pueblo, who signed on to a summer railroad job after he graduated from the Albuquerque Indian School and played trumpet in the band, remembered the rail work was hard, but being in the band made it worth it. He thought it was a thrill to travel in Pullman cars, and he mind getting paid $5 to practice twice a week. Angus Bandeka of Zuni Pueblo was a machinist for the railroad and played trumpet in the band for years. Like many of the rail men, he encouraged his son to audition for the band. John Bandeka played trumpet alongside his dad in 1957 and 1958 as he graduated from high school and began college.

It until he was an adult that he realized how talented the musicians were. thing that was notable was the level of the quality of the said Bandeka, who now lives in Rio Rancho. were very Bandeka, Lucero, Toya and Herrera, along with a couple dozen other former members of the Indian band, will get together in Winslow this weekend for a reunion, the first since the group disbanded 49 years ago. tour the site of the old boxcar village and some of the places they used to play. And be featured in Christmas Parade.

They were relieved to find out be riding on a float this time instead of marching in their moccasins. UpFront is a daily front-page news and opinion column. Comment directly to Leslie at 823-3914 or Strike Up the Old Santa Fe Railroad Indian Band from PAGE A1 COURTESY PhOTO ABOVE: The Santa Fe Railroad Indian Band, made up of railroad workers, in front of La Posada in Winslow, where the band was based. RIGHT: Former Santa Railroad Indian Band members Julia Herrera, left, and Mary Toya in front of the St. Joseph Mission Church at Laguna Pueblo.

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