San Ildefonso Pueblo ( Tewa: Pʼohwhogeh Ówîngeh ’òhxʷógè ʔówîŋgè"where the water cuts through" ), also known as the Turquoise Clan, is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Santa Fe County,

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, United States, and a federally recognized tribe, established c. 1300 AD. The

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

is self-governing and is part of the

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 524 as of the 2010 census, reported by the State of New Mexico as 1,524 in 2012, and there were 628 enrolled tribal members reported as of 2012 according to the Department of the Interior. San Ildefonso Pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos, and the pueblo people are from the Tewa ethnic group of Native Americans, who speak the Tewa language.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the pueblo has a total area of , of which is land and (5.54%) is water. San Ildefonso Pueblo is located at the foot of Black Mesa.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 524 people residing in the San Ildefonso CDP. The racial makeup was 62.2% Native American, 11.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 21.2% from other races, and 5.3% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 31.9% of the population. There were 212 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them. As of 2010, the population was distributed with 26.3% under the age of 18, 14.3% who were 65 years of age or older, females comprised 51.7%, and males comprised 48.3% of the population. As of 2000, the median income for a household in San Ildefonso was $30,000, and the median income for a family was $30,972. Males had a median income of $19,792 versus $19,250 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the pueblo was $11,039. About 19.1% of families and 14.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 50.0% of those age 65 or over.

History

The

was established around 1300 AD and founded by people who had migrated from the Mesa Verde complex in Southern

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, by way of Bandelier (elevation about 7000 feet), just south of present-day

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos (, meaning ''The Poplars'') is a census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as one of the development and creation places of the Nuclear weapon, atomic bomb—the primary objective of ...

. People thrived at Bandelier due to the rainfall and the ease of constructing living structures from the surrounding soft volcanic rock. But after a prolonged drought, the people moved down into the valleys of the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

around 1300 AD ( Pueblo IV Era). The Rio Grande and other arroyos provided the water for irrigation. The Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

s tried to subdue the native people and force Catholicism on the native people during the early 17th century, which led to the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. The people withstood the Spaniards by climbing to the top of the Black Mesa. The siege ended with the surrender of the native people, but the Spanish gave the native people some freedom of religion and other self-governing rights. Both the people and the lands of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso were affected by intrusion of Spanish colonists. Due to these encroachments, by the 1760s some native families reported that they had no agricultural lands to support themselves. Part of their lands were restored to San Ildefonso by a 1786 decision of Governor Juan Bautista de Anza. Mexico took control of the area in 1821, and later the United States gained control in 1848 following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Congress created the modern reservation in 1858 confirming a grant of 17,292 acres of land to the pueblo, and the grant was patented in 1864. By the time the land was patented under the laws of the United States in 1864, there were only 161 pueblo members left. A smallpox outbreak in 1918 took the population below 100. The people of San Ildefonso continued to lead an agricultural based economy until the early 20th century when Maria Martinez and her husband Julian Martinez rediscovered how to make the Black-on-Black

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

for which San Ildefonso Pueblo would soon become famous. From that time the Pueblo has become more tourist-oriented, with numerous tourist shops. Because of close proximity to the state capital, Santa Fe, and the presence of the

Los Alamos National Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory (often shortened as Los Alamos and LANL) is one of the sixteen research and development Laboratory, laboratories of the United States Department of Energy National Laboratories, United States Department of Energy ...

, many of those employed in the pueblo have state or federal government jobs.

Politics

San Ildefonso is governed by a civil government consisting of an executive branch (the governor) and a legislative branch (the tribal council). The pueblo has experienced political controversy in recent years with significant appeals to the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

. In 2011, former pueblo Lt. Governor Paul D. Rainbird was sentenced to 33 months on federal charges of illegal trafficking in contraband cigarettes. In 2012, the Interior Board of Indian Appeals vacated BIA decisions to acknowledge the results of an election for Governor of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso for the 2008/09 term which had resulted in the governorship of Leon Roybal. In 2012, the

adopted a new constitution through general election overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. One of the results of the new constitution is that, for the first time, women are allowed to run for tribal council positions. To date, there is no publicly available copy of the newly adopted constitution. The 1996 San Ildefonso Code is the most recent available copy of local laws governing the pueblo.

Economic development

The San Ildefonso Pueblo Enterprise Corporation (SIPEC) is a federally chartered Section 17 Corporation which is wholly owned by the Pueblo de San Ildefonso. SIPEC is charged with working with companies and individuals who share a vision of utilizing the Pueblo's strategic location for fostering economic and job growth for the Pueblo de San Ildefonso.

Education

It is zoned to Pojoaque Valley Public Schools. Pojoaque Valley High School is the zoned comprehensive high school. The

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs that directs and manages education functions. Formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs ...

operates the San Ildefonso Day School, an elementary school, in the pueblo.

Culture

The people of San Ildefonso have a strong sense of identity and retain ancient ceremonies and rituals tenaciously, as well as tribal dances. While many of these ceremonies and rituals are closely guarded, San Ildefonso Feast Day is open to the public every January 23. Other dances open to the public include Corn Dance, which occurs in the early to mid-part of September, and dances at Easter. There was an art movement called the San Ildefonso Self-Taught Group, which included such noted artists as Alfonso Roybal, Tonita Peña, Julian Martinez, Abel Sanchez, Crecencio Martinez, and Jose Encarnacion Peña.

Notable people

* Alfred Aguilar (b. 1933), painter and ceramicist * José Angela "Joe" Aguilar (b. 1898), potter and painter * José Vicente Aguilar (b. 1924), painter * Clara Archilta (1912–1994), watercolor painter and beadworker * Gilbert Benjamin Atencio (1930–1995), painter * Awa Tsireh a.k.a. Alfonso Roybal (1898–1955), watercolor artist * Crucita Calabaza also known as ''Blue Corn'' (1921–1999), pottery artist * Joe Herrera (1923–2001), painter * Edgar Lee Hewett (1865–1946), anthropologist, instrumental to the development of the San Ildefonso Self Taught Group * Manuel Lujan (1928–2019), member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1969–1989), United States Secretary of Interior (1989–1993) * Julian Martinez (1879–1943), pottery artist * Maria Martinez (1887–1980), pottery artist * Jose Encarnacion Peña (1902–1979), painter * Tonita Peña (1893–1949), watercolor artist * Oqwa Pi (also known as Abel Sanchez; 1899–1971), painter, watercolorist, muralist * Josefa Roybal, painter, potter * Martina Vigil-Montoya (1856–1916), ceramics painter

Gallery

References

External links

San Ildefonso Pueblo

San Ildefonso Pueblo Enterprise Corporation - SIPEC

Indian Pueblo Cultural Center

New Mexico Tourism , San Ildefonso Pueblo

American Southwest, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary

Maria and Julian Martinez and San Ildefonso History
{{authority control American Indian reservations in New Mexico Census-designated places in Santa Fe County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico Tewa Native American tribes in New Mexico Pueblo great houses Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico National Register of Historic Places in Santa Fe County, New Mexico Pueblos on the National Register of Historic Places in New Mexico