Pueblo peoples

The Pueblo peoples or Puebloans are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States. They share ways of farming, making things, and practicing their faith. Well-known Pueblo groups include Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Zuni, and Hopi. They speak many languages and each group has its own customs. But they all grow corn, which is very important to them.

Pueblo peoples have lived in the American Southwest for thousands of years. They come from the Ancestral Pueblo peoples. The word "Pueblo" comes from the Spanish language and means "village". Spanish explorers found big villages made from adobe, stone, and other local materials.

Today, Pueblo nations keep many of their old traditions. They focus on farming, strong family ties, and respecting their history. Pueblo people live mainly in New Mexico and Arizona, with some in Texas. They work hard to keep their culture and beliefs alive.

Etymology

The word "Pueblo" comes from the Spanish language. It means "village" and "people." Spanish explorers used this word to describe how the Pueblo peoples built their homes.

Earlier, some people used the word "Anasazi" to talk about the Pueblo peoples and their ancient culture. This word came from the Navajo language and means "enemy ancestors." Today, the Pueblo peoples do not like this word because they find it disrespectful.

Subdivisions

Pueblo peoples speak languages from four different language families. This means each language is very unique and hard for speakers of other Pueblo languages to understand. Today, English is the common language used in the region.

Anthropologists have studied Pueblo peoples and found different ways to group them. One way looks at their farming methods. The Zuni and Hopi focus on dry farming, while others use irrigation. All Pueblo peoples grow corn, along with squash and beans.

Another way of grouping them looks at family and marriage customs. Some groups, like the Hopi and Zuni, have children join their mother's clan and must marry outside it. Others have children join their father's clan and marry within it. These differences also show up in their stories and important numbers in their rituals.

History of the Pueblo peoples

Origins

Main article: Ancestral Puebloans

Pueblo societies began from three big cultures in the Southwest United States before Europeans arrived. These were the Mogollon culture, who lived near the Gila Wilderness; the Hohokam culture; and the Ancestral Puebloan culture, who lived in the Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde regions of the Four Corners area.

People in the Mogollon culture first gathered food but later began farming. By the first millennium CE, farming became their main way to get food. They built homes called hamlets with pithouses, which were houses dug into the ground with roofs made of sticks and thatch. Over time, these villages grew bigger, and by the 11th century CE, they lived in houses made of rock and earth with wooden roofs.

The Hohokam culture used irrigation canals to water their crops as early as the 9th century CE. This helped them grow more food and become one of the largest groups in the Southwest by 1300. They lived in villages and grew corn, using clever ways to bring water to their fields.

The Ancestral Puebloan culture is famous for the stone and earth homes they built along cliff walls from about 900 to 1350 CE. These homes were hard to reach, often needing ropes or climbing to get inside. Their villages had many rooms and were built around open spaces called plazas.

Development of architecture and city-states

Further information: Ancient dwellings of Pueblo peoples and Pueblo architecture

Around 700 to 900 CE, Pueblo people started building connected rooms made of adobe clay instead of living in cliff houses. By 1050, they created big villages with many rooms, often placed in safe spots like rocky ledges or high flat areas to protect themselves from attacks. One of the biggest villages was Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, New Mexico, which had around 700 rooms and could hold up to 1000 people.

Spanish contact and colonization

Before 1598, Spanish explorers visited the Pueblo areas but did not stay long. In the late 1500s, Spanish leaders arrived to change the Pueblo religion to Catholicism. This made the Pueblo people very unhappy, and over time, the Spanish became harsher, leading to revolts by the Pueblo.

Pueblo Revolt

The Pueblo Revolt in 1680 was the first time Native Americans successfully drove out European colonists from North America for many years. It happened because the Pueblo people were upset about Spanish actions, including taking away their leaders and forcing their religion.

Return of the Spanish

Comancheria

Mexican period and Rio Arriba Rebellion

Main article: Río Arriba Rebellion

Mexican–American War and Taos Revolt

Main articles: Mexican–American War and Taos Revolt

Debate over legal status as Indians

Main article: United States v. Sandoval

Pueblo Lands Act and Pueblo Lands Board

Main article: Pueblo Lands Act

Self-determination era

Main article: Federal Indian Policy

21st century

On September 22, 2005, a statue of Po'pay, the leader of the Pueblo Revolt, was placed in the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. It was the last statue added to the National Statuary Hall Collection and was made by Cliff Fragua, a sculptor from the Jemez Pueblo. In 2018, Deb Haaland became the first Pueblo woman elected to the United States House of Representatives and later the first Native American Secretary of the Interior from 2021 to 2025.

Culture

Pueblo people have a rich culture with special ways of making clothes, growing food, and practicing their beliefs.

They make beautiful woven clothes from natural fibers and animal hide. For everyday work, their clothes were simpler.

Corn is very important to Pueblo people. They have grown corn for thousands of years. Pueblo people are skilled at growing crops and raising animals like cattle and horses.

Pueblo people also make special pottery. Each group has its own style of making and decorating pottery. Their religious beliefs include stories about spirits and nature. They have special dances and ceremonies to honor these beliefs and connect with their ancestors. Some of these ceremonies are open to visitors, but there are rules to follow.

Main article: Agriculture in the prehistoric Southwest

Further information: Hopi mythology

List of federally recognized Pueblo tribes

New Mexico

Some well-known Pueblo tribes in New Mexico include:

• Acoma Pueblo – Keres speakers. It is located on a mesa. It has been home to people since the 12th century.
• Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (formerly San Juan) – Tewa speakers. It was home to Popé, a leader of the 1680 Pueblo Revolt.
• Taos Pueblo – Tiwa speakers. It is known for its UNESCO World Heritage Site buildings. It has been home to people since the 11th century.
• Zuni Pueblo – Zuni speakers. It was the first Pueblo visited by the Spanish in 1540.

Arizona

Further information: List of ancient dwellings of Pueblo peoples in Arizona

• Hopi Tribe – Hopi language speakers.

Texas

Further information: List of ancient dwellings of Pueblo peoples in Texas

• Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, El Paso, Texas – originally Tigua speakers. This Pueblo was started in 1680 after the Pueblo Revolt.

Endonyms and exonyms

Each Pueblo has its own name in the languages spoken in the area. These names are often different from the names given by outsiders. Over many years, trade and marriages between groups have influenced these names.

Population history

Before Europeans arrived, the Pueblo peoples had many people living in their villages. Over time, their numbers went down. But now, their population is growing again. In 2020, there were 78,884 Pueblo people in the USA, with many living in New Mexico.