Zuni
Pueblo
as History...
Europeans first "discovered" Zuni territory in 1539
when Friar Marcos De Niza and a former black Moorish
slave named Estevanico led a party from Mexico in search
of the fabled "Seven Cities of Gold."
The Spanish were convinced that the stories
of "wealth" about this area meant "gold." Though Fray
Marcos never actually entered any of the Zuni villages
at that time, his companion Estevanico had gone ahead of
the party to approach the Zuni People at the ancestral
village of Hawikku.
Unfortunately, Estevanico's
inappropriate behavior among the Zuni people got him
killed. After learning of Estevanico's death. Fray
Marcos turned around immediately and returned to Mexico
with more stories of the fabled "Seven Cities of
Gold."
Further tales led directly to Francisco
Vasquez de Coronado's expedition. On July 7, 1540, a
full eight years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth
Rock, Coronado reached Hawikku and eventually overcame
Zuni resistance with Spanish horses, lances, swords, and
cannons.
Coronado's occupation was brief, and due
to Zuni's isolation from settlements along the Rio
Grande Valley, they had little or no contact with the
Spanish during their years of colonization in this
region.
In 1680, Pueblos in New Mexico, including
Zuni, planned and carried out a revolt against Spanish
domination. |
During the period of this
Pueblo Revolt all six villages that were occupied in the
Zuni valley sought refuge on the sacred mountain Dowa
Yallane until 1692. After making peace with the Spanish,
the Zuni people came back down from Dowa Yallane and
consolidated into a single Pueblo at Halona Idiwan'a,
which became known as Zuni.
With New Mexico
statehood in 1848, the United States Government assumed
control of Zuni territory. However, continual
appropriation and abuse of Zuni lands by the Government and
unscrupulous land grabbers led to the shrinkage of
Zuni's aboriginal territories and confinement to a
reservation a small fraction of the original size of
Zuni's original land-use areas.
In the late
1980's, a successful litigation against the US
Government by the Zuni people resulted in partial
restitution for lands lost as well as damaged under
Governmental administration.
Zuni Pueblo Today. .
.
Respect for our A:shiwi culture, heritage, and
way of life vitalizes our community today, as much as
does our involvement in modern society. Microwave ovens,
CD's, computer technology and the Internet are as much a
part of Zuni life as are our age-old
traditions.
Zuni religion, language, agriculture,
and customs continue to be essential parts of Zuni life
and are passed from one generation to the next. For
centuries, our practice of annual traditional rituals
has brought blessings, peace, harmony, long life, and
fertility to the Zuni people. And, we believe, to the
people of the
world!
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