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Indians & Pueblos
New Mexico has been home to it's indigenous people for thousand of years with Taos Pueblo being continuously inhabited for more than eight hundred years.
Famous New Mexico Indian Chiefs
Geronimo - He was born in 1829 in what is today western New Mexico, but was then still Mexican territory. Geronimo was the leader of the last American Indian fighting force formally to capitulate to the United States. Geronimo's final surrender in 1886 was the last significant Indian guerrilla action in the United States. At the end, his group consisted of only 16 warriors, 12 women, and 6 children. Because he fought against such daunting odds and held out the longest, he became the most famous Apache of all.
Cochise - He had long worked as a woodcutter at the Apache Pass stagecoach station of the Butterfield Overland line until 1861, when a raiding party drove off cattle belonging to a white rancher and abducted the child of a ranch hand. An inexperienced Army officer ordered Cochise and 5 other Apaches to appear for questioning. When they denied guilt or complicity, Bascom ordered his men to seize and arrest the Apaches. (Their claims of innocence were later substantiated.)The death of one of the Apaches, started Cochise on the war path.
Taza - As the first son of Cochise, Taza became the leader of his father's group when Cochise died in 1874. In the summer of 1876, Taza joined the Apache delegation to Washington, D.C., to sue for peace. During this trip, Taza succumbed to pneumonia and was buried in the Congressional Cemetery. As a result of Taza's death, Naiche became more militant.
Victorio - He wasa skilled strategist, known for his bravery. In 1877 Victorio signed a peace treaty on behalf of the Apache. When the U.S. unilaterally broke the treaty after just four months, Victorio and his men kept on raiding, hiding in the mountains to survive. Over the next couple of years Victorio signed more treaties, was captured, was indicted, and always managed to escape. In 1880 his band was cornered, and in a two-day battle most of them were wiped out.
Naiche- When his older brother Taza died he became chief of the Chiricahua Apaches. In 1879, Naiche resisted relocation to the San Carlos Apache Reservation and went to Mexico with Geronimo's Band. While ensconced in the Sierra Madre south of Rio Grande, Naiche and Geronimo attacked American and Mexican communities with relative impunity. While Naiche was certainly the hereditary chief of the Chiricahua Apaches at this time, it appears that Geronimo was viewed as the great leader and probably persuaded Naiche, the younger man, to submit to his leadership during these campaigns.
Chato - Chato was one of Cochise’s twelve captains who became a U.S. Army scout. He helped to bring his own people to subjugation, always believing the promise that they would be accorded the same rights and treatment as other Americans. It was Chato, a whirlwind of destructiveness and ferocity, commanding 200 Apache scouts under General Crook who brought the rapacious career of Geronimo to an end.
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Pueblos, Tribes, Nations
Acoma - Acoma Pueblo also known as "Sky City," is built on top of a 367-foot sandstone mesa. [ read more ]
Cochiti - Cochiti is the northernmost of the Keres-speaking pueblos with a population of about 1,502. [ read more ]
Isleta - Originally established sometime in 1300s, the name Isleta comes from the Spanish language and means "Little Island." [ read more ]
Jémez - The Pueblo of Jemez is the only remaining village of the Towa-speaking pueblos in New Mexico and is surrounded by colorful red sandstone mesas. [ read more ]
Jicarilla Apache Nation - Nomadic in nature until just before European contact, the Jicarilla tribe established trade with Taos and Picurís pueblos. They wandered and traded as far east as Kansas until they settled deep in the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the mid-1720s. [ read more ]
Laguna - Keresan-speaking Laguna pueblo has six villages (Encinal, Laguna, Mesita, Paguate, Paraje and Seama) and is home to a notable business and industrial community. [ read more ]
Mescalero Apache Reservation - The Mescalero traditions remain strong as they develop a strong economic foundation. [ read more ]
Nambé - The Nambé Falls Recreation Area, located above the pueblo, offers swimming, lake fishing, a stunning double-drop waterfall and camping. [ read more ]
Navajo Nation - The Diné (Navajo) Nation stretches across three separate U.S. states. The largest U.S. Indian tribe, the Navajo Nation consists of more than 298,000 members, about 106,807 of whom live in New Mexico. [ read more ]
Ohkay Owingeh - Ohkay Owingeh, known as San Juan Pueblo until the community returned to its pre-Spanish name, is the headquarters of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council. [ read more ]
Picuris - Picuris is located in an isolated valley in the northern hills of New Mexico. They refer to themselves as the "People of the Hidden Valley." [ read more ]
Pojoaque - The Pueblo of Pojoaque has always owned its land in communal title – the Pueblo has never been a federal reservation. The pueblo, located 12 miles north of Santa Fe, has two hotels, a casino and a world-class golf course. [ read more ]
Sandia - Originally named Nafiat, the pueblo was deserted in 1680 when the residents fled to Hopi Pueblo during the Pueblo Revolt. The people of Sandia did not return until the mid-1700s, and their old village is evident in ruins near the church. [ read more ]
San Felipe - The pueblo is well-known for its beautiful dancing, particularly for the Feast of St. Philip on May 1, when hundreds of men, women and children participate in traditional Green Corn Dance. [ read more ]
San Ildefonso - San Ildefonso is best known as the birthplace and home of the late Maria Martínez, who along with her husband, Julian, developed the world-renowned black-on-black pottery with black matte designs. [ read more ]
Santa Ana - Santa Ana Pueblo has a long history of progress. In 1709, the pueblo purchased 5,000 acres along the Río Grande to increase its agricultural production and land base. [ read more ]
Santa Clara - Contemporary Santa Clarans believe their ancestors first lived in the nearby Puyé Cliff Dwellings, including Top House, a ruined mesa top village built along a stunning cliff face in Santa Clara Canyon. [ read more ]
Santa Domingo - The village people have a distinguished history of making fine jewelry and heishi. [ read more ]
Taos - Taos is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America. It continues to enchant visitors as it has done for the past 1,000 years. [ read more ]
Tesuque - The name Tesuque is a Spanish variation of the Tewa name, Te Tesugeh Oweengeh, meaning the "village of the narrow place of the cottonwood trees." [ read more ]
Zia - Zia Pueblo is the birthplace of the familiar ancient sun symbol, which sports multiple stylized rays radiating in each of the traditional four directions from a central sun. [ read more ]
Zuni - New Mexico's most populated pueblo was the first native settlement visited in 1540 by Spanish explorers, who thought it was one of the legendary Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola. [ read more ]
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