For many non-Native Americans, the continent’s indigenous people are a source of fascination, whether because of easy-to-see markers — clothing, pottery, artwork, dance styles, housing traditions and the like — or the not-so-visible features like spirituality or a history that stretches back thousands of years.
The Pueblo people of the Southwest are among the better known tribal groups, at least from a touristic standpoint. With an estimated population of 75,000 to 80,000, the Pueblo people are a tiny fraction of the country’s Native Americans, but they attract our interest because of distinctive adobe homes, as well as their sought-after pottery and jewelry.
There are 21 federally recognized Pueblo tribes, 19 of them in New Mexico. (The other two are in Arizona and Texas.) Each Pueblo nation has its own origin story, spiritual understandings and governing structure. Further, among them, there are five languages, but without evidence that the languages are related. Despite differences, all Pueblo nations share the cultural heritage of Ancestral Puebloans, forebears who lived in Colorado, Nevada and Utah, as well as Arizona and New Mexico, before the arrival of Spanish explorers in the 1500s.
For visitors, the Acoma and Taos villages are probably the best known. And the best known modern Pueblo figure is Deb Haaland, formerly a member of Congress and secretary of the interior and now candidate for New Mexico governor.
50 years ago…