zuni pueblo

our friends shalie and charles gasper grew up on the zuni indian reservation and their parents, elkus and mary angeline still live there.  kienda and i went out to visit them and see what life on the reservation is like.  zuni is located about 150 miles west of albuquerque, new mexico in a beautiful valley surrounded by amazing mesas.  the zuni river used to flow through this valley but years of drought has since dried it up.

arriving

zuni-land

the village

the village

old mission

bread ovens

zuni sun god

into the plaza

the sacred dance place

old mission

 our tour guide gloria

zuni is a very large reservation/pueblo and is roughly 450,000 acres of land and a population of over 11,000.  one of the main things that the zuni tribe is know for is their beautiful silver, turquoise and coral jewelry. there are a few stores along the main street to wonder at the beauty of the jewelry.  other crafts that they are known for are pottery and animal stone fetishes.

family made

we were warmly welcomed by the gaspers.

elkis and mary

zuni sacred mesa

sunset over the village

zuni kachina god

the sacred mesa

leaving

the feeling that i had being on the pueblo was one of sadness and destitution.  the history of how these people have been treated over hundreds of years is just horrible.  they have their land where they can live together and try to keep their traditions alive but it is hard in this day and age of television and media and massive sugar intake.  the most people we saw were over weight and did not look happy.  alcohol and drugs are a major problem on the reservation and there are not a lot of options or opportunities for the people here.  the zuni people do hold their traditions high and practice many dances and spiritual ceremonies most being closed to the public.  the zuni language is spoken widely on the reservation and there is a bi-lingual school to make sure that the language does not die out, which is wonderful because it is a beautiful language.

i wish that the white man's greed and wars had not ruined such a rich and deep culture.  my prayer for native tribes all over the planet is that despite the pain the white man has inflicted on them throughout history, that they persevere to hold their traditions important and not allow them to disappear  in the stupidity of the white man's consumerism and commercialism.  

so be it!!