San Ildefonso Pueblo (

Tewa The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo Native Americans who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe. They comprise the following communities: * ...

: Pʼohwhogeh Ówîngeh ’òhxʷógè ʔówîŋgè"where the water cuts through" ) is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in Santa Fe County,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

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

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

is self-governing and is part of the

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. 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 The Eight Northern Pueblos of New Mexico are Taos, Picuris, Santa Clara, Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan), San Ildefonso, Nambé, Pojoaque, and Tesuque. Taos and Picuris are Tiwa-speaking pueblos; the rest speak Tewa. Tiwa and Tewa are c ...

, and the

pueblo people The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos, San Ildefonso, Acoma, Z ...

are from the

ethnic group of Native Americans, who speak the

Tewa language Tewa is a Tanoan language spoken by Pueblo people, mostly in the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico north of Santa Fe, and in Arizona. It is also known as Tano, or (archaic) Tée-wah. Dialects and usage The 1980 census counted 1,298 speakers, ...

Geography

San Ildefonso is located at (35.897902, -106.121834). According to the

United States 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 th ...

, 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 is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

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

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

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

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

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 total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

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 A.D. and founded by people who had migrated from the

Mesa Verde Mesa Verde National Park is an American national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States. Established ...

complex in Southern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

, by way of

Bandelier Bandelier National Monument is a United States National Monument near Los Alamos in Sandoval and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico. The monument preserves the homes and territory of the Ancestral Puebloans of a later era in the Southwest. Mos ...

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

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Labo ...

. 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 around 1300 C.E. (

Pueblo IV Era The Pueblo IV Period (AD 1350 to AD 1600) was the fourth period of ancient pueblo life in the American Southwest. At the end of prior Pueblo III Period, Ancestral Puebloans living in the Colorado and Utah regions abandoned their settlements a ...

). The Rio Grande and other arroyos provided the water for irrigation. The

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

conquistador 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, ...

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 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 colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger than present-day New Mex ...

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 Maria Montoya Martinez (1887, San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico – July 20, 1980, San Ildefonso Pueblo) was a Native American artist who created internationally known pottery. Martinez (born Maria Poveka Montoya), her husband Julian, and o ...

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 ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

for which San Ildefonso Pueblo would soon become famous. From that time the

has become more tourist-oriented, with numerous tourist shops existing in the

. 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 laboratories of the United States Department of Energy (DOE), located a short distance northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico, ...

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

Politics

San Ildefonso is governed by a civil government consisting of an executive branch (the governor) and a legislative branch (the tribal counsel). The pueblo has experienced political controversy in recent years with significant appeals to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. 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 Schools Pojoaque Valley Public Schools is a school district with its headquarters in an unincorporated area in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States, with a Santa Fe, New Mexico post office address. Pojoaque Valley Schools serves the Pojoaque Vall ...

Pojoaque Valley High School Pojoaque Valley High School is a public high school in unincorporated Santa Fe County, New Mexico. It is located on the Jacona Campus, which is outside of the Jacona census-designated place. - Compare to the zone map and to thJacona CDP map It se ...

is the zoned comprehensive high school.

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 Encarnación 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 * Gilbert Benjamin Atencio (1930–1995), painter *

Awa Tsireh Awa Tsireh (February 1, 1898 – March 30, 1955), also known as Alfonso Roybal and Cattail Bird, was a San Ildefonso Pueblo painter and artist in several genres including metalwork. He was part of the art movement known as the San Ildefonso ...

a.k.a. Alfonso Roybal (1898–1955), watercolor artist *

Crucita Calabaza Crucita Gonzalez Calabaza (December 27, 1921 – May 3, 1999), also known as Blue Corn, was a Native American artist and potter from San Ildefonso Pueblo, New Mexico, in the United States. She became famous for reviving San Ildefonso polychrome ...

also known as ''Blue Corn'' (1921-1999), pottery artist *

Joe Herrera Joe Hilario Herrera (also known as See-Ru; born 1923–2001), was an American Pueblo painter, teacher, radio newscaster, politician, and a Pueblo activist; from a mixed Cochiti and San Ildefonso background. He was the son of the artist Tonita Pe� ...

(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 The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natura ...

(1989 - 1993) * Julian Martinez (1879–1943), pottery artist *

(1887–1980), pottery artist *

Jose Encarnacion Peña Jose Encarnacion Peña, also known as Encarnacion Peña, and Soqween (1902–1979) was a Native American painter from San Ildefonso Pueblo in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. He is best known for his watercolors of Pueblo ceremonies and he was an ear ...

(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

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