Pojoaque: A New/Old Pueblo

Pojoaque: A New/Old Pueblo - November 14

Pojoaque Pueblo is fascinating because their recent history is so different from Zuni and other Pueblos. Pojoaque is one of six Tewa-speaking pueblos surrounding Santa Fe. In fact the whole area around and between Albuquerque and Santa Fe is filled with Indian Pueblos. In Pojoaque we visited their Poeh Cultural Center/Museum and also drove through the actual pueblo village on a mesa above the museum.

While the Pojoaque Pueblo is relatively new (see below) the museum highlighted and is very proud of the exhibit of the “old,” nine historic Tewa pots made between 1800-1900 that were recently returned to them from the Smithsonian American Indian collection in Washington. The expectation is that the pots now will be always housed at the Poeh Museum and is an effort to reclaim Tewa cultural history through repatriation of cultural artifacts like the pots. In the near future another 90 or so pots will also be “coming home” to this site. The pots are beautiful works of art, but also intended for hard use: to store, prepare and serve food and water; clothing and other belongings were also kept in pottery. In general the pottery we have seen on our trip has been incredible, both beautiful, varied in design and very, very durable, given how old they are. And it is everywhere, in museums, art galleries (Santa Fe is filled with these), and for sale on the street or in shops.

A few things seem different about Pojoaque. First, while they are legally considered Indians by the federal government they do not have a federally recognized reservation. Instead the pueblo owns about 13,000 acres and has an elected government. Second, the Pueblo had virtually ceased to exist earlier last century, resulting from an encroaching white settler population and a smallpox epidemic that killed a lot of the Indians at the end of the 19^th century. Most of the Pojoaque that survived left for nearby pueblos or elsewhere. In the early1930s, however, the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Washington sought to find some of these “refugees” and successfully helped five families repatriate to the pueblo and it has grown from there. So this pueblo is mostly “new,” but still only less than 500 Pojoaque live there. It was interesting to learn how this “newness” meant that many of the traditions, including the language, had been lost. But the repatriated community has sought to restore these traditions. Neighboring Tewa pueblos assisted by teaching them the dances and religious ceremonies. In our drive up to the new pueblo we saw a modern kiva that has recently been constructed (no pictures allowed) to facilitate the reintroduction of traditional religion. At the same time, it is interesting that Catholic traditions still retain a hold here as elsewhere among the pueblos, and so there are regular “feast day” celebrations which honor each pueblo’s patron saint.

There is evidence of significant prosperity here, including a fancy casino/resort (New Mexico’s largest and most expensive) with a golf course, another smaller casino and hotel, a large modern supermarket, new housing, two large youth centers, senior citizens, library, wellness center etc. It is considered one of the most prosperous of all the pueblos. Another claim to fame is that in the 1970s Pojoaque elected a woman as governor, the first pueblo to do so (there have been 3 others since).

The museum also includes a very well done, permanent exhibit (Nah Poeh Meng, Tewa for “Along the Continuous Path”) that essentially recreates the 6 stages of pueblo development, in 6 rooms that you walk through in succession. The exhibit is essentially a large diorama that you walk through, almost feeling as if you are among the figures and scenes. An actual river winds its way along with you. It starts in the “emergence room” which depicts their origin story; then winter – the time of hunting and gathering; spring and the beginning of agriculture and pit houses as dwellings; summer and more developed agriculture (corn, squash, beans), pottery making and development of multistory adobe residences; fall and the Spanish colonialism/brutality/imposition of Catholicism; and the contemporary period with a blend of old and new. The exhibit was created by Santa Clara Pueblo artist Roxanne Swentzell who was the creator of Mud Woman in one of our first blogs.