Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico Explained

Official Name:Santa Clara Pueblo, New Mexico
Settlement Type:CDP
Mapsize:250px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:New Mexico
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Rio Arriba
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:5.28
Area Land Km2:5.23
Area Water Km2:0.05
Area Total Sq Mi:2.04
Area Land Sq Mi:2.02
Area Water Sq Mi:0.02
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:930
Population Density Km2:177.79
Population Density Sq Mi:460.40
Timezone:Mountain (MST)
Utc Offset:-7
Timezone Dst:MDT
Utc Offset Dst:-6
Elevation Ft:5670
Coordinates:35.9725°N -106.0928°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:87532
Area Code:505
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:35-70390
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:2409276
Footnotes:
Santa Clara Pueblo
Nrhp Type:hd
Nocat:yes
Embed:yes
Designated Other1:New Mexico
Designated Other1 Date:December 30, 1971
Designated Other1 Number:231
Designated Other1 Num Position:bottom
Added:November 5, 1974
Refnum:74001199
Flag Alt:Tribal Flag

Santa Clara Pueblo (in Tewa: Khaʼpʼoe Ówîngeh [xɑ̀ʔp’òː ʔówîŋgè]) "Singing Water Village", also known as "Village of Wild Roses"[2] is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States and a federally recognized tribe of Native American Pueblo people.

The pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos, and the people are from the Tewa ethnic group of Native Americans who speak the Rio Grande Tewa language. The pueblo is on the Rio Grande, between Ohkay Owingeh (formerly San Juan Pueblo) to the north and San Ildefonso Pueblo (P'ohwhóge Owingeh) to the south.

Santa Clara Pueblo is famous for producing hand-crafted pottery, specifically blackware and redware with deep engravings. The pueblo is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Geography

Santa Clara Pueblo is located approximately 1.5 miles south of Española on NM 30.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.4 km), all land.

Demographics

The 2010 census found that 1,018 people lived in the CDP,[3] while 1,182 people in the United States reported being exclusively Santa Claran[4] and 1,425 people reported being Santa Claran exclusively or in combination with another group.[5]

History

Tewa people lived in the Pueblo area for millennia before they met Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate and his exploration party on July 11, 1598.[6] Pueblo archaeology shows that Ancestral Puebloans lived in the general region as far back as 1200 BC.

First visited in 1541, a segment of Francisco Coronado's expeditionary force met with the residents of the nearby Caypa Pueblo. After annexation of the region into the Spanish Kingdom, and as part of the 1601 expansion of Oñate's colonial capital,[7] a chapel was built there by 1617. Fray Alonso de Benavides established a mission in 1628.[6] The mission was abandoned on the lead up to the Great Pueblo Revolt of 1680.

This Pueblo joined forces with others nearby and fought against the Spanish Royal Government in 1680 in the revolt. The original and unoccupied chapel was destroyed. Two other chapel buildings would be constructed there. The current church replaced the former in 1918.

In 1782, a smallpox outbreak decimated the population. The eighth section of the Act of July 22, 1854, mandated a census of the newly acquired possessions of the US government. In review of the land's title, the pueblo presented a Spanish Royal decree dated October 15, 1713, that the title to land and various pueblos could be expected. Though lost, the decree on the title papers assured protection of the pueblos' right to protection of their homelands from encroachment. The result of the title research led this Pueblo community to be of the first recognized by United States Congress.

Education

It is in the Española Public Schools district.[8] The comprehensive public high school is Española Valley High School.

There is a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-affiliated tribal elementary school,[9] Kha'p'o Community School, in Santa Clara Pueblo.[10]

Arts

Among the arts practiced at Santa Clara Pueblo, pottery is one of the most well-known. Traditionally, pottery was made primarily by girls and women, and while many potters today are women, there are many men who make pottery as well. Santa Clara Pueblo potters are known for their black polished and red polished pottery in a distinctive style, especially the use of incised work. "Knife-wing" or eagle feather designs are common on Santa Clara pottery[11] [12] [13] There are a number of well-known ceramic artists from Santa Clara. Four approaches are used in the decoration of the majority of Santa Clara Pueblo ceramics: painted designs, impressed patterns, incised designs, and resist-firing with incised or sgraffito designs.[14]

Notable tribal members and residents

See also

References

  1. Web site: ArcGIS REST Services Directory. United States Census Bureau. October 12, 2022.
  2. https://www.puyecliffdwellings.com/history/ Puye Cliff Dwellings - About Santa Clara Pueblo
  3. Web site: NM - Santa Clara CDP. U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. United States Census 2010. March 10, 2018.
  4. Census 2010 American Indian and Alaska Native Summary File (AIANSF) - Sample Data, Pueblo of Santa Clara alone (H58)
  5. Census 2010 American Indian and Alaska Native Summary File (AIANSF) - Sample Data, Pueblo of Santa Clara alone or in any combination (H58) & (100-299) or (300, A01-Z99) or (400-999)
  6. Web site: New Mexico Office of the State Historian - people. newmexicohistory.org. 22 April 2018.
  7. Web site: Santa Clara Pueblo--American Southwest--A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary. www.nps.gov. 22 April 2018.
  8. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Rio Arriba County, NM. U.S. Census Bureau. 2021-07-30.
  9. Web site: Kha'p'o Community School. National Center for Education Statistics. 2023-03-16.
  10. Web site: Contact Us. Kha'p'o Community School. 2023-03-16. Kha'p'o Community School 625 Kee Street Espanola, NM 87532. - While the address says "Espanola", the school is in Santa Clara Pueblo (see US Census Bureau map for 2020)
  11. Book: Pueblo and Navajo contemporary pottery and directory of artists. Berger, Guy. 2004. Schiffer. Schiffer, Nancy.. 0764318969. 2nd ed., rev. and enl. Atglen, PA. 67–77. 57013886.
  12. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/amsw/sw40.htm National Park Service, Santa Clara Pueblo
  13. http://www.indianpueblo.org/19pueblos/santaclara.html Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, Santa Clara Pueblo
  14. Book: LeFree, Betty. Santa Clara pottery today. registration. 1975. University of New Mexico Press. 46–56. 948286978.

External links