Kewa Pueblo (
Eastern Keres
Keres (), also Keresan (), is a Native American language, spoken by the Keres Pueblo people in New Mexico. Depending on the analysis, Keres is considered a small language family or a language isolate with several dialects. The varieties of each ...
, Keres: ''Díiwʾi'', Navajo: ''Tó Hájiiloh'') is 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 Unite ...
of
Native American Pueblo people in northern
New Mexico, in
Sandoval County
Sandoval County is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 131,561, making it the fourth-most populous county in New Mexico. The county seat is Bernalillo, New Mexico, Bernali ...
southwest of
Santa Fe.
The pueblo is recorded as the Santo Domingo Pueblo
census-designated place by the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, with a population of 2,456 at the
2010 census.
The population of the pueblo is composed of Native Americans who speak Keres, an eastern dialect of the
Keresan languages. Like several other Pueblo peoples, they have a
matrilineal kinship system,
in which children are considered born into the mother's family and
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
, and inheritance and property pass through the maternal line. The pueblo celebrates an annual feast day on August 4 to honor their
patron saint,
Saint Dominic
Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...
. More than 2,000
pueblo people participate in the traditional corn dances held at this time.
Name
In the 17th century, the
Spanish conquistadores
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...
named the pueblo "Santo Domingo". Its earliest recorded name was ''Gipuy''. According to Pueblo Council members, the local name in their Keres language has always been Kewa. In 2009, the pueblo officially changed its name to Kewa Pueblo, altering its seal, signs and letterhead.
[Constable, Anne (9 March 2010)]
"Pueblo returns to traditional name: Santo Domingo quietly becomes 'Kewa'; tribe alters seal, signs and letterhead"
''The New Mexican'' (Santa Fe, New Mexico), archive
at WebCite
According to the Pueblo of Acoma's Keres Online Dictionary, the Western Keresan-name for the pueblo was ''Díiwʾi'' and for its people therefore ''Dîiwʾamʾé''.
Geography
Kewa Pueblo is located at (35.514483, -106.363429).
The pueblo is located approximately southwest of
Santa Fe.
Interstate 25
Interstate 25 (I-25) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 stretches from I-10 at Las Cruces, New Mexic ...
runs to the east of the community. The pueblo is part of the
Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the Santo Domingo CDP that overlays the pueblo has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
The
2010 census found that 2,456 people lived in the CDP,
while 3,519 people in the U.S. reported being exclusively Santo Domingo Puebloan and 4,430 people reported being Santo Domingo Puebloan exclusively or in combination with another group.
The state of New Mexico has reported the population as 3,100.
["Santo Domingo Pueblo"]
''New Mexico, Land of Enchantment''. New Mexico Tourism Department. Retrieved March 8, 2018.
History
The pueblo plays a supporting role in Spanish colonial history.
Gaspar Castaño de Sosa Gaspar Castaño de Sosa (ca. 1550, Portugal - ca. 1595, Molucca) was a Portuguese settler, colonist, explorer, and reputed slaver who was among the founders of the towns of Saltillo and Monclova, in Coahuila, Mexico. He led an expedition, deemed i ...
, a fugitive from the Crown, was arrested at the pueblo in March 1591. Castaño, a notorious
slaver, had fled capture. He pursued an illegal claims expedition up the
Pecos River
The Pecos River ( es, Río Pecos) originates in north-central New Mexico and flows into Texas, emptying into the Rio Grande. Its headwaters are on the eastern slope of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range in Mora County north of Pecos, New Mexico ...
, which had not yet been seen by Europeans. He made it as far as
Pecos Pueblo
Pecos National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park in San Miguel and Santa Fe Counties, New Mexico. The park, operated by the National Park Service, encompasses thousands of acres of landscape infused with historical ...
, and raided it for slaves. He turned west and traveled toward modern-day
Santa Fe, which had been established by the Spanish. He followed the Rio Grande river valley south. On orders of the Viceroy at Mexico City, Captain Juan Morlette found Castaño at Kewa Pueblo and arrested him. He returned him to authorities to face trial for his crimes, including his attack on Pecos Pueblo.
Castaño abandoned two interpreters at Kewa Pueblo; he had kidnapped them earlier and brought them with him. Governor
Juan de Oñate's expedition recorded encountering Tomas and Cristobal at Kewa Pueblo, as it traveled north.
20th century to present
Potters of Kewa and
Cochiti Pueblos have made
stylized pottery for centuries, developing styles for different purposes and expressing deep beliefs in their designs. Since the early decades of the 20th century, these pots have been appreciated by a wider audience outside the pueblos. Continuing to use traditional techniques, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, potters have also expanded their designs and repertoire in pottery, which has an international market.
Visual arts
Kewa artists are known for their stonework jewelry,
including flat disks or beads called
''heishi'', meaning "shell bead" in Eastern Keresan, which are often made into necklaces.
Pottery
Pottery is an important art form and utilitarian craft from Kewa Pueblo.
Large ollas and dough bowls are common forms for Kewa potters. Many Kewa potters are women, although men can also create ceramics.
The
Aguilar Family
The Aguilar Family is a Native American family of potters from Santo Domingo Pueblo (currently known as Kewa Pueblo), New Mexico, United States. The group consisting of two sisters, Felipita Aguilar Garcia, Asuncion Aguilar Cate, and their siste ...
, consisting of two sisters and one sister-in-law, created Kewa pottery from 1910 until approximately 1915 and became very well-known for their artwork.
Robert Tenorio has continued his family legacy by making traditional Kewa pottery,
and Tenorio's sister was part of a well-known husband-wife pottery collaboration called,
Arthur and Hilda Coriz.
Education
It is in the
Bernalillo Public Schools
Bernalillo Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Bernalillo, New Mexico.
History
As of 1970 Hispanic and Latino people are the majority ethnic group in the area. Prior to 1969 the school board had five members. To encourage electio ...
district,
which operates
Bernalillo High School.
Notable people
Notes
Further reading
* Chapman, Kenneth Milton (1977). ''The Pottery of Santo Domingo Pueblo: A Detailed Study of Its Decoration.'' School of American Research, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, ; original published in 1936 as volume 1 of the ''Memoirs of the Laboratory of Anthropology''
* Richard H. Frost, ''The Railroad and the Pueblo Indians: The Impact of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa fe on the Pueblos of the Rio Grande, 1880-1930.'' 2016, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press.
* Verzuh, Valerie K. (2008). ''A River Apart: The Pottery of Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos''. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico,
External links
Santo Domingo PuebloKeres Pueblo Indians– Encyclopedia of World Cultures
{{authority control
Native American tribes in New Mexico
Census-designated places in New Mexico
Albuquerque metropolitan area
Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico