I just enjoyed a tour of Old Acoma "Sky City."

One of the highlights of my time as Secretary of the Interior was joining tribal members from throughout the Americas for the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian.

The museum's sandstone curved walls are outstanding architecture.

The curves of the sandstone cliffs that I saw during today's drive remind me of that building. I understand the inspiration you draw from your area.

If Sky City's walls could talk, they would tell an extraordinary history of this oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States.

Even now your ancestors whisper from this sacred land. They speak in the adobe they shaped long ago; in the beautiful pottery and jewelry you fashion today.

Today, your land will be made whole again.

Two deeds restoring tribal ownership of minerals on tribal surface lands within the reservation are being presented to you today. They return the mineral rights on more than 74,000 acres of land sacred to your people.

This transfer represents the respect President Bush and I have for tribal sovereignty; the transfer represents our continued commitment to renewing the living legacies of American Indians in New Mexico and all across the country.

This land was torn away from you and then torn asunder: It was deeded to the Atlantic and Pacific railroad company in 1908. The railroad retained the subsurface rights when the United States returned the land to the Pueblo in 1936.

That situation concerned all parties. Your people had reason to fear that sacred sites would be affected by mineral extraction: Those who controlled the mineral rights had much to lose by using them.

The problem festered for decades before it was solved thanks to the leadership of those here, as well as someone who cannot be - the late Rep. Joe Skeen.

Rep. Skeen championed the legislation that made this transfer possible. In 2002, President Bush signed his legislation, directing Interior to purchase the mineral interests on reservation land.

Earlier this year, the law was amended to allow royalty credits to be exchanged for the mineral rights. Your nation wanted this transfer, so did New Mexico.

It is a tribute to the power of partnerships that all of the parties came together to make this transfer happen months ahead of schedule.

Here, representatives of the Pueblo of Acoma met with representatives of my department to discuss enacting the law. Following a final appraisal of the value of the land, representatives of NZ met with Interior officials and acceptable terms were found. In exchange for their subsurface rights, NZ has agreed to accept royalty credits.

Those efforts have made this land whole again. The land will be a living legacy to the Pueblo people - theirs to live on and learn from.

So is the National Museum of the American Indian. It is a truly living, breathing example of what American Indians were, and are, and hope to be. During the museum's opening celebration, President Bush hosted a gathering of American Indian leaders at the White House and reaffirmed this administration's commitment to tribal sovereignty and self-determination.

He also said that more than the museum, children are the true living legacy of American Indians. They must learn for the legacy to live.

For that reason, President Bush continues to commit to Indian Education programs. He has spent more than a billion dollars on Indian school construction and renovation projects.

We believe in Indian people, in your future. We are committed to helping you make your future even better. President Bush and I believe that many sunny days lay ahead for this restored land, for this sandstone city in the sky.

Let us reunite your land. Let us complete this transfer and look forward to even better days ahead.