Taos Pubelo - A Sacred Place

I have said before that travel is a growth experience.  In my 6 tips post (here) I wrote “Travel is more than just going to a place, it's an inner journey as well. Growing as a person while on a road trip - or any kind of vacation - is the best kind of souvenir to bring home. “   

This is so true of this trip!  Today we went to the Taos Pueblo.  There are 19 pueblos in New Mexico and we passed signs for several of them on the 2 and a half hour drive Albuquerque to Taos.  My daughter-in-law asked why we were not just visiting one of them instead of doing a 5 hour round trip.  Good question!  Each pueblo is unique in its own way.  They are considered to be the oldest inhabited communities in the United States.  But if I was going to visit only one pueblo I wanted it to be the Taos Pueblo. 

Beautiful San Geronimo Catholic Church on The taos pueblo

Taos is known for being one of the most private, secretive, and conservative pueblo.  The Pueblo's website states it was probably built between 1000 and 1450.  This means there has been continuous inhabited for a millennium.  Over the last century, it has also become one of the most photographed (Ansel Adams and others) areas in northern New Mexico and the southwest due of its unique landscape.  

straddling two cultures

The Pueblo charges $16 per adult for admission and severely restricts photography and the use of it.  Think of the money as a donation to a way of life and not as a ticket to entertainment.  This is a living, breathing community and not an amusement park venue.  It is not comparable to my visit to Tombstone.   We took the guided tour which lasts 30 minutes and the guide is not an hourly employee but a college student who works for tips.  The tour starts in the beautiful San Geronimo Catholic Church.

Here are some of the highlights of the tour: 

Like most agrarian societies, the Taos Pueblo village was started near a water source, the nearby Rio Grande River.  It is believed that the Pueblo peoples migrated from the Four Corners area to here due to a drought.   Archaeologists have studied the area for years, given the historical significant of the Pueblo people and the age of the settlement.

Our guide, Summer, shared three major events in the recent history of the Pueblo.  The first was the Pueblo Revolt in 1680.  17 of the 19 pueblos revolted against the Spanish.  It is the only time a Native American group managed to win against the Anglos and drove them out of their land.  They remained free for 12 years. 

The next event she shared was the bombing of the Church of San Geronimo by the Americans in 1850.  This was in retaliation for the murder of Governor Bent by the Taos Indians.  150 women, children, and old men were killed.  They had fled to the church for sanctuary.  The current church was rebuilt on another site. 

destroyed church

No one is allowed to enter this cemetery except on All Souls Day, November 1st each year

The last event was the return of land seized by the government.  The land was the Blue Lake area which was a sacred area for the Pueblo.  President Nixon returned the land in 1970.  This is the only time land has been returned to Native Americans.

I overheard a remark from one of the visitors on how “depressing and poverty stricken the Reservation was.”   Is it "poverty" to live in the same structure your ancestors build 5,000 years ago? In England, that is called a castle. Is it "depressing" to keep your ancestral home in the family, passing it down from generation to generation? In England, that is called nobility.  Within the wall of the old Pueblo there is no electricity, no running water, no indoor toilets not because of poverty but to maintain the old way of life.  The people successfully straddle two cultures and do so with pride.

Hornos or community ovens are used to bake bread and cookies

The village is also significant because of the 165 year old church that was erected by early Catholic missionaries.  The San Geronimo Chapel was built in 1850 to honor Saint Jerome and is considered to be one of the most beautiful examples of adobe church architecture.  75% of the residents of the pueblo are Catholics (90 are baptized) and use the church for Sunday Mass, baptisms, weddings and funerals but 100% of Taos Indians practice their still-vital, ancient indigenous religion.

165 year old church

some of the buildings are in ruins but it gives a good idea of the construction

The Taos Pueblo village is on the National Historical Landmark list. It ranks with the Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China and the Grand Canyon.  The Pueblo is a learning experience about history, culture, and art.

The people exhibit a sense of pride in their way of life.  They have a strong sense of community.  Understanding of this is not an “aha” moment for me but a journey of growth. 

sign on the pueblo.  this is our common thread

I wish you could all see this amazing and spiritual place