New Mexico, Part 3

On to our northernmost destination --Taos. Like many towns in New Mexico, Taos has a central plaza, shown here. The buildings include a couple of restaurants, shops, a fabric store, and souvenir stores.

Also located in the central plaza is the War Memorial. Taos is one of a handful of places where the United States flag may be flown 24/7 without a light on it. This is in honor of Kit Carson and a group of citizens who, during the American Civil War, raised the US flag in the plaza and posted a round-the-clock guard to make sure it stayed up.

Kit Carson maintained a home in Taos, which is open to the public. Tours include a movie outlining Carson's life, as well as a guide available to answer questions. At right is Carson's grave. His third wife, Josefa, is buried beside him on the left. (Carson's first wife, Waa-ni-beh or Singing Grass, was an Arapaho woman and died within five years of their wedding, after bearing two children. His second wife, Making-Out-Road, was Cheyenne and supposedly divorced him after 18 months.)





At left is the Saint Francis of Assisi Chapel, also in Taos. We didn't have a chance to go inside, but did get to walk around the grounds.



One of the highlights of the trip is a visit to the Taos Pueblo. At least 19 tribes of Pueblo Indians are located in New Mexico. Visitors are permitted at Taos, but must adhere to strict rules about photography and privacy for the residents. You're welcome to bring cameras into the area as long as you show them at the entrance and pay a $5 fee. Certain areas of the pueblo are off-limits, including the cemetery and private homes. If you want to take a picture of any of the residents, you have to get verbal permission first. (After all, would you want a tour-bus full of people trampling all over your property without permission?)

There is no piped running water or electricity in the pueblo village itself. About 150 people live there year-round; many more of the tribe live in homes outside the pueblo, but still on tribal lands. A stream runs through the pueblo, dividing it into the North and South Villages, and providing the residents with their sole source of drinking water. At right is a picture of the North Village (Hlauuma in Tiwa, the language of the Pueblo people). Note the van on the left -- it belongs to a village resident. They are allowed to own cars and trucks.

The walls of the pueblo buildings are made of a mixture of mud and straw. They must be "re-plastered" every year or two to offset the erosion caused by weather.

We were given a tour by a young woman who had grown up in the pueblo and who was going off to college in the fall. During the tour she provided us with information on the tribe's history and way of life, as well as answering general questions. Around 48,000 acres of tribal land was returned to the Taos Pueblo by then-President Richard Nixon in 1970. (As our guide commented, "No matter what anyone else thinks of Nixon, he's honored here.") The land is used for various purposes by the residents -- for example, I spent part of an afternoon taking a horseback ride through some of it.

Our guide showed us the San Geronimo (St. Jerome) Catholic Church onsite and explained some of the rituals and decorations that were unique to the Pueblo Catholics. At left is the outside of church; pictures were not allowed inside. Many of the Pueblo people also practice their traditional religion as well; a kiva is located on the grounds, although visitors aren't permitted there. Some of the residents practice both religions.

Like most other Native American tribes, the Pueblo Indians have dancers. One family came to our hotel in the evenings to perform; the grandchildren danced, the grandparents described the regalia (costumes) and meanings of the dances. Since I don't have permission to post these pictures online, I'll just mention this in passing. If you ever get a chance to visit Taos, stop by the Katchina Lodge in the evening and watch the performances.

In the final post, I'll discuss Albuquerque, the last stop in our vacation.