Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh ɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè ″Singing Water Village″, also known as ″Village of Wild Roses″ is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

of Native American Pueblo people. The pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos, and the people are from the Tewa ethnic group of Native Americans who speak the Rio Grande Tewa language. The pueblo is on the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

, between Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo) to the north and San Ildefonso Pueblo (P'ohwhóge Owingeh) to the south. Santa Clara Pueblo is famous for producing hand-crafted pottery, specifically blackware and redware with deep engravings. The pueblo is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Santa Clara Pueblo is located at (35.971124, -106.089111), approximately 1.5 miles south of Española on NM 30. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km), all land.

Demographics

The 2010 census found that 1,018 people lived in the CDP, while 1,182 people in the United States reported being exclusively Santa Claran and 1,425 people reported being Santa Claran exclusively or in combination with another group.

History

Tewa people lived in the Pueblo area for millennia before they met Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate and his exploration party on July 11, 1598. Pueblo archaeology shows that

Ancestral Puebloans The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, a ...

lived in the general region as far back as 1200 BC. First visited in 1541, a segment of Francisco Coronado's expeditionary force met with the residents of the nearby Caypa Pueblo. After annexation of the region into the Spanish Kingdom, and as part of the 1601 expansion of Oñate's colonial capital, a chapel was built there by 1617. Fray Alonso de Benavides established a mission in 1628. The mission was abandoned on the lead up to the

Great Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé's Rebellion or Popay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than prese ...

of 1680. This Pueblo joined forces with others nearby and fought against the Spanish Royal Government in 1680 in the revolt. The original and unoccupied chapel was destroyed. Two other chapel buildings would be constructed there. The current church replaced the former in 1918. In 1782, a

small pox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) cer ...

outbreak decimated the population. The eighth section of the Act of July 22, 1854 mandated a census of the newly acquired possessions of the US government. In review of the land's title, the pueblo presented a Spanish Royal decree dated October 15, 1713 that the title to land and various pueblos could be expected. Though lost, the decree on the title papers assured protection of the pueblos' right to protection of their homelands from encroachment. The result of the title research led this Pueblo community to be of the first recognized by United States Congress.

Education

It is in the

Española Public Schools Española Public School District #55 (EPSD) or Española Public Schools (EPS) is a school district based in Española, New Mexico, USA. It includes sections of Rio Arriba County and Santa Fe County. In the year 2000 the district had a total of 16 ...

district. The comprehensive public high school is

Española Valley High School Española Valley High School (EVHS) is a Title-1 public senior high school of the Española Public Schools District, located in Española, New Mexico. Nearly 3/4 of the student body is made up of Hispanic students. The school is located within th ...

Arts

Among the arts practiced at Santa Clara Pueblo, pottery is one of the most well-known. Traditionally, pottery was made primarily by girls and women, and while many potters today are women, there are many men who make pottery as well. Santa Clara Pueblo potters are known for their black polished and red polished pottery in a distinctive style, especially the use of incised work. "Knife-wing" or eagle feather designs are common on Santa Clara potteryIndian Pueblo Cultural Center, Santa Clara Pueblo
accessed 2010-05-26 There are a number of well-known ceramic artists from Santa Clara. Four approaches are used in the decoration of the majority of Santa Clara Pueblo ceramics: painted designs, impressed patterns, incised designs, and resist-firing with incised or sgraffito designs.

Notable tribal members and residents

Angela Baca Angela Tafoya Baca (1927 – 2014) was a Native American artist who was known for her redware and blackware pottery, especially melon bowls and bowls featuring a bear paw design. She had one of the longest careers of the potters in Santa Clara P ...

, matriarch of the Santa Clara melon potters *

Gregory Cajete Gregory A. Cajete is a Tewa author and professor from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. ...

, author and educator * Tammy Garcia, ceramic artist and sculptor *

Luther Gutierrez Margaret Gutierrez (born 1936) and Luther Gutierrez (1911–1987) were a brother and sister team of Native Americans in the United States, Native American potters from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, United States. They descended from several gener ...

, potter *

Margaret Gutierrez Margaret Gutierrez (born 1936) and Luther Gutierrez (1911–1987) were a brother and sister team of Native American potters from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, United States. They descended from several generations of potters and continue thpo ...

, potter * Joseph Lonewolf, potter *

Nora Naranjo Morse Nora Naranjo Morse (born 1953) is a Native American artist and poet. She currently resides in Española, New Mexico just north of Santa Fe and is a member of the Santa Clara Pueblo. Her work can be found in several museum collections including t ...

, artist and filmmaker * Linda and Merton Sisneros, potters *

Paul Speckled Rock Paul Joseph "Speckled Rock" Tafoya (1952 – 2017) was a Native American artist who was noted for his paintings, bear fetishes, bronze sculptures of Native American dancers, and redware and blackware pottery. A member of the Tewa and a reside ...

, potter and bronze sculptor, gallery owner *

Anita Louise Suazo Anita Louise Suazo (born May 13, 1937) is a Native American potter from Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico, United States. Background She is the daughter of Ernesto Tapia and noted potter Belen Tafoya Tapia (1914–1999). Anita's mother Belen was o ...

, traditional potter * Roxanne Swentzell, ceramic and bronze sculptor, Native plant activist *

Rose B. Simpson Rose B. Simpson (Santa Clara Pueblo) (born 1983) is a mixed-media artist who works in ceramic, metal, fashion, painting, music, performance, and installation. She lives and works in Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico. Her work has been exhibited at SI ...

, mixed-media, ceramic, and performance artist * Margaret Tafoya, Santa Clara traditional potter * Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara painter * Nathan Youngblood, potter

References

External links

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center - Santa Clara Pueblo

Santa Clara Pueblo Community Library

at National Park Service
Santa Clara Pueblo pottery gallery

the Swentzell family of Santa Clara Pueblo {{authority control 01 Census-designated places in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Tewa Native American tribes in New Mexico Puebloan peoples Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico