New Mexico

The Land of Enchantment

Tourism Department

Native America in New Mexico

The mystique of New Mexico's American Indian tribes is extremely powerful. Their unique languages, colorful dances, distinct arts and crafts, and cultural stories and traditions have been passed down through the generations and are intrinsic to the Land of Enchantment. The spiritual roots that sustain the state's various tribes, connecting them to the earth and sky, to wind and water, to sun and moon, and to their ancestors, are a prominent part of New Mexico’s rich cultural history. Each of New Mexico’s Native American communities has their own beliefs to explain their origins. For example, many Native Americans believe their people originated from the earth itself, and are as natural and integral to New Mexico as its native trees and terrain.

Archaeologists believe that American Indians first arrived in New Mexico between 12,000 to 30,000 years ago, after crossing the Bering Sea from Siberia. For centuries, these ancestral Indians lived a nomadic life, hunting and gathering their food throughout the Southwest. About 1,500 years ago, some of these ancestral groups (today referred to as the Anasazi Indians) began practicing agriculture and established permanent settlements, or pueblos. The wild foods the Anasazi domesticated are critically important culturally and economically today, and include corn, beans, squash, and chilies. The wonderful and unique cuisine of New Mexico and the Southwest, and much of their agricultural economy, can be traced, in large part, to the original agricultural efforts of the Anasazi.

Other groups, like the ancestors of the Navajo and Apache, continued their nomadic hunting and gathering lifestyles. For some New Mexican tribes, this way of life continued until well into the 19th century. Later, many became nomadic herders. Today, herding is still a major economic enterprise for these Native Americans, and for New Mexico.

New Mexico’s American Indian cultures influence many aspects of our modern lifestyles. Perhaps the most obvious is the architectural style of the typical pueblo village, a style that is imitated statewide and often combined with other traditional and modern building styles. 
New Mexico’s Native Americans are famous around the world for their pottery, jewelry, basket and textile weaving, fine art and music.

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