Pojoaque (;

Tewa The Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo people, Pueblo Native Americans in the United States, 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 San ...

: Pʼohsųwæ̨geh Ówîngeh/P'osuwaege Owingeh ’òhsũ̀wæ̃̀gè ʔówîŋgè, Po’su wae geh, which translates to “water gathering place”, is a

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States. It 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 1,907 at the 2010 census. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Pojoaque as 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). Pojoaque Pueblo, a neighboring community, is an

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

, and the town of Pojoaque is a collection of communities near the pueblo with people from various ethnic backgrounds. The area of Pojoaque includes the neighborhoods of Cuyamungue, Jacona, Jaconita, Nambé and El Rancho.

History

Pojoaque

In the early 17th century, the first Spanish mission, San Francisco de Pojoaque was founded. During the

Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé, Popé's Rebellion or Po'pay'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 t ...

of 1680, Pojoaque was abandoned, and was not resettled until ''circa'' 1706. By 1712, the population had reached 79. During the revolt of 1837, New Mexico native Manuel Armijo defeated the rebels at Puertocito Pojoaque, east of Santa Cruz de la Cañada. In the early 1900s, the Pojoaque Valley School District was established to serve the educational needs of the valley.

Pojoaque Pueblo

Pojoaque Pueblo is one of the six

-speaking

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 ...

Pueblos, and a member of the

Eight Northern Pueblos 350px, Location of Eight Northern Pueblos and neighboring pueblos in New Mexico The Eight Northern Pueblos of New Mexico are Taos, Picuris, Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan), Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Nambé, Pojoaque, and Tesuque. T ...

. The Pueblo was settled around 500 AD, with the population peaking in the 15th and 16th centuries. In about 1900, a severe

smallpox 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 (W ...

epidemic caused the pueblo to be abandoned once again by 1912. In 1934, Pojoaque Pueblo was reoccupied, and became a federally recognized Indian reservation in 1936. Pojoaque Pueblo remains a major employer in the region, owning several business enterprises, including the gaming operations of three casino locations: Buffalo Thunder Resort, Cities of Gold Casino, and Jake's Casino. Prior to 2017, the New Mexico state gaming compacts signed by the pueblo expired, but the pueblo has continued gaming operations and resumed negotiations with the state of New Mexico.

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 CDP has a total area of 2.9 square miles (7.5 km), all land. Pojoaque Creek runs from the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...

from Nambé Lake westward. Passing through the pueblo, it joins the Rio Tesuque to form the Pojoaque River, which flows into the

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 2000, there were 1,261 people, 493 households, and 332 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 533 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 52.10%

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 ...

, 0.56%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 17.37% Native American, 26.57% from other races, and 3.41% 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 62.17% of the population. There were 493 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.10. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $15,875, and the median income for a family was $24,719. Males had a median income of $19,830 versus $17,105 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 CDP was $13,968. About 17.2% of families and 18.7% 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 23.4% of those under age 18 and 15.3% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Pojoaque Pueblo opened the Poeh Museum in 1987, and the Cities of Gold Casino in the mid-1990s. In 2008 the Pueblo opened the Buffalo Thunder resort and casino, New Mexico's largest and most expensive resort. The estimated cost for the resort project in 2004 was $250 million.Buffalo Thunder construction
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Education

The Pojoaque Valley is served by the Pojoaque Valley School District, which administers several schools, teaching Kindergarten through twelfth grade: * Pojoaque Valley High School * Pojoaque Middle School * Pojoaque Sixth Grade Academy * Pojoaque Intermediate School * Pablo Roybal Elementary School Pojoaque Valley High School competes in the NMAA District 2AAAA in athletics.

References

External links

Pojoaque community profile
{{authority control Census-designated places in Santa Fe County, New Mexico Census-designated places in New Mexico Tewa Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area