Kalle Benallie
ICT
ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico — A defining moment of Indigenous resilience happened more than 400 years ago with the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, where the Pueblo people defied the Spanish colonizers in what is now New Mexico. The historic anniversary is Aug. 10 every year, the first day the revolt began.
For decades the Pueblo people in the southwest United States lived under Spanish colonization. They were forced to abandon their traditional practices, adopt Catholicism, forced into a labor system that prevented the use of farmlands and resources and endured persistent violence.
Then around 1675, Tewa Pueblo leader Po’Pay became a key leader in organizing a revolt that would change Pueblo history forever. An interesting way he communicated with Pueblo leaders — because they didn’t speak the same language and were not allowed to have horses — was by having runners deliver knotted ropes that counted down the days to the revolt.
But two days before the attack, the Spanish caught two runners. The revolt was then pushed up. Horses were taken, haciendas and churches destroyed, roads blocked and water supply to Santa Fe was cut off.
About 400 Spanish were killed during the revolt, including several dozen priests, settlers and Pueblo people. Two thousand people, including some Pueblo people, who were either hostages or chose to stay with the Spanish, left what is majority today New Mexico.
For 12 years the Spanish didn’t return. Pueblo peoples’ homelands, traditions and languages were preserved and protected.
Christine Sims, an associate professor at the University of New Mexico’s Department of Language, Literacy and sociocultural studies, said that the Spanish learned an important lesson about the resilience and tenacity of the Pueblo people.
“In ensuing years afterwards, they learned that in order to live here and establish their colonies, they needed to live side by side with the Pueblo people and learned to acknowledge that Pueblos had their own self-governance, their own languages, and their own cultural traditions,” Sims told ICT in an email.
The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center celebrates the “Pueblo Revolt Day” by having a variety of dances, a presentation, a corded rope demonstration and children activities. This year’s events will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time with a general admission, for non-museum members.
“How Pueblo people recall this historic event varies by community. For any public events, it would be a good thing to check the online website for the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center here in Albuquerque,” Sims said.
Po’pay, whose name means “Ripe Squash,” was born around 1630 into the Ohkay Owingeh, or San Juan, Pueblo community near present-day Española, New Mexico. There are no images or written descriptions of Po’Pay, but there is a statue of him under the U.S. Capitol.
Cliff Fragua, of Jemez Pueblo, was commissioned in 1999 to work on a statue of Po’Pay’s likeness to represent the state of New Mexico for the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. It is the only work by a Native American artist in the collection.
In 2005, the statue was revealed and Po’pay became the first person represented in the National Statuary Hall Collection to be born on what would become American soil.
Fragua said each item near or on Po’pay symbolizes Pueblo culture and tradition.
“On his back are the scars that remain from the whipping he received for his participation and faith in the Pueblo ceremonies and religion,” Fragua wrote in the statue’s description.
Po’pay is one of the 11 Indigenous people enshrined by the Architect of the Capitol. The others are: King Kamehameha I, Sakakawea, Sequoyah, Chief Standing Bear, Chief Washakie, Sarah Winnemucca, Will Rogers, Chippewa Chief Aysh-Ke-Bah-Ke-Ko-Zhay, Chippewa warrior Beeshekee and Vice President Charles Curtis.
