Little-Known Fact: Controversial Attorney Kunstler Represented Reies Lopez Tijerina in New Mexico

New Mexico land grant activist Tijerina at UNM in 2008. Photo: M. Kearns

New Mexico land grant activist Reies Lopez Tijerina wasn’t featured in the long list of individuals represented by William Kunstler in the new film about the attorney's life, "Disturbing the Universe," that was shown in Santa Fe last week.

It was difficult for the filmmakers in one production to focus on more than a handful of the numerous cases handled by William Kunstler during his lifetime (1919-1995).

Clients who made the film's final editing cut included civil rights demonstrators, a wide range of political activists, inmates in the Attica prison uprising, members of the American Indian Movement, criminal defendants, and many others. The legal caseload was so voluminous that filmmakers, Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler, had to leave out many individuals and issues in order to cover the highlights of their father’s career.

"Wild Bill,” as Kunstler was sometimes known, was both loved and hated

William Kunstler has been called many things, including “Wild Bill” and “The Patron Saint of Losing Causes.” The New York Times described Kunstler as “the most hated and loved lawyer in America.” He was involved in the trials and tribulations of many controversial figures, well known, as well as lesser known. And as the film so clearly points out, he was a lightening rod himself.

Reies Lopez Tijerina was behind the highly-publicized courthouse raid in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico in 1967. William Kunstler was part of the legal team appealing Tijerinas’ conviction in the incident at the Echo Amphitheater in Abiquiu, New Mexico that occurred the previous summer, in 1966, when Tijerina and his supporters, La Alianza, marched from Albuquerque to the state capitol at Santa Fe.

People across the U.S. and around the world equated Tijerina with the Wild West

The protestors set up camp to occupy federal land at the amphitheater in Rio Arriba County. They announced the creation of the Republic of San Joaquín del Río de Chama, an action intended to draw attention to the long-standing grievances stemming from The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ended the Mexican-American war (1846-1848).

The treaty addressed the property claims of Mexican citizens living in the territory transferred to the United States. In the many years following the treaty, resentment increased to a boiling point among many northern New Mexican residents and heirs to the land grants. By the 1960s, many land grant heirs were openly vocal about being cheated out of their property by the U.S. government, dishonest speculators, and corrupt politicians. Sympathy with Tijerina's message and his movement was fueled by this discontent.

Former New Mexico Governor David F. Cargo’s recent book, Lonesome Dave, published by Sunstone Press in Santa Fe, describes Cargo's role in the political conflict associated with Tijerina, as well as the way in which the state's residents, as well as people across the country and around the world, found the tale of Tijerina and his supporters fascinating. The story of the 1967 courthouse raid in Rio Arriba County, north of Santa Fe, is told and retold whenever this era comes up for review and discussion.

Tijerina’s autobiography They Called Me "King Tiger" continues to sell copies, long after its 2000 publication date.

In 2008 at a UNM law school symposium, the topic of New Mexico land grants attracted a large crowd

In April 2008, Tijerina made a personal appearance at the University of New Mexico School of Law's symposium on land grants. The well-attended event demonstrated that the debate about land grants remains unresolved and in the minds of many, the issue is still very much alive.

It isn’t often that films produced by family members are able to rise above criticism and result in a documentary acceptable to the film-going public. “Defending the Universe” does this successfully by making transformation a major theme of the work. The filmmakers show how family members and others couldn’t always understand Kunstler’s reasoning when he chose clients. The movie explores change and transformation, whether it's a juror in the Chicago 7 trial, Kunstler's friends and supporters, the general public, and even Kunstler himself.

Kunstler minced no words, and he spent his life disturbing the universe, as did Tijerina

William Kunstler started out practicing law in a conservative firm in a suburb of New York City. He went on to play a prominent role in the front lines of radical politics and protest. He was fearless in expressing his opinions, whether the topic was racism or what he called “the white power structure.” Tijerina had that same quality of being outspoken, despite the consequences. Some New Mexicans today distance themselves from Tijerina for what they believe was his tendency to go too far. Others are of the opinion that he didn’t go far enough. Tijerina lives in El Paso. Occasionally he travels back to northern New Mexico where his family owns land. 

The film, “Disturbing the Universe," will be released as a DVD in late April. It will also be available through Netflix and other distribution outlets.