Pojoaque Pueblo, 8 x 10 watercolor

inspired by photo taken by Clyde Mueller for the Santa Fe New Mexican cmueller@sfnewmexican.com

Numbered Prints $50.00

Matted and Framed Prints $80.00

Pojoaque Pueblo - (Po-suwae-geh) means Water Drinking or Gathering Place

THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN NEWSPAPER

Tribal members honor leaders with Buffalo Dance during annual All Kings Day event
David Collins | The New Mexican 1/6/2008 - 1/7/08

With the sound of jingle-bell leggings and gourd rattles, Pueblo of Pojoaque buffalo dancers celebrated a new year and marked the final day of the Christmas season Sunday by honoring their elected officials.

Area pueblos hold feasts and dances Jan. 6 to celebrate All Kings Day, a traditional Christian holiday commemorating the arrival of three kings to visit the newborn Jesus.

Outside the home of Pojoaque Gov. George Rivera, the pueblo's secretary, treasurer and lieutenant governor stood by their governor, each cradling in their arms ceremonial canes as they watched the Buffalo Dance. The canes are a symbol of pueblos' legal authority, Rivera said.

The Buffalo Dance honors the animals that have sustained Pueblo people, Rivera said. On this occasion, "dancers are dancing on behalf of the leadership, to lead with strength," Rivera said.

After the dance and a prayer in Tewa language, four young dancers paused to honor the canes in the arms of elected officials.

Throughout the day, friends, neighbors and pueblo members stopped by Rivera's hilltop home, sat for a bite to eat and joined in casual conversations. Outside, older youths played hacky sack, while inside, moms kept an eye on younger kids while they enjoyed each other's company.

"I feel good that the pueblo is keeping up with its culture and ceremonies," Rivera said. "It's good to see the youth who are being brought up with them as a part of their lives."

For a time, Pojoaque didn't practice community dancing, Rivera said. Some traditions nearly succumbed to the cultural forces that uprooted much of the pueblo population in the 20th century. Among those traditions nearly lost was the practice of self-governance.

His great-grandfather, Gov. Antonio Tapia, returned to the pueblo with his family and a few relatives in 1932 after a Depression Era sojourn to Colorado for work, Rivera said. Tapia re-established the pueblo government. It was another 40 years before the ancient tradition of community dancing blossomed again.

"In the 1970s, the leadership then decided to bring back the dances," Rivera said.

Members of Ohkay Owingeh, then known as San Juan Pueblo, helped Pojoaque relearn traditional songs and dances, Rivera said.

Most of the canes Pojoaque leaders carried Sunday are of comparatively recent origin, but the tradition is almost 400 years old.

Pojoaque Judge Frank Demolli said the canes are not to be handled casually. After the dance, Rivera returned the set under his care to a hook in the round kiva-like great room of his home. He said one bears the date 1863, but it is a more recent replica.

"President Lincoln presented the canes to all the pueblos in New Mexico," Rivera said.

Demolli said the original Lincoln cane, purchased in Philadelphia for presentation to the pueblos, was ebony with a silver tip. He has a clue where at least part of the original might be, but declined to publicly elaborate.

Lincoln presented the canes to pueblos in recognition of their peaceable attitude toward the Union during the Civil War, Demolli said, citing research by the late Bureau of Indian Affairs Pueblos Agency representative Sophie Aberle. The canes affirmed the United States' recognition of pueblo sovereignty, Demolli said.

Pueblo governors first received canes in 1620, when the king of Spain decreed that the pueblos should each elect a governor, lieutenant governor and other officials by popular vote at the end of each year, Demolli said. The decree prohibited interference by the church or the Spanish government.

A cross on the silver top of the earliest canes commemorated the pueblos' support for the church, Demolli said, again referencing Aberle.

Mexican officials gave the pueblo governors canes after the new nation won independence from Spain in 1821 and briefly gained control of what is now New Mexico, Demolli said.

More recently, Spanish King Juan Carlos presented pueblos with canes, again reaffirming Spain's recognition of the tribal governments. Then-New Mexico Gov. Bruce King affirmed the same recognition when he presented the pueblo its newest cane, Demolli said.

Contact David Collins at 986-3064 or dcollins@sfnewmexican.com.