For the survival of their rich heritage and a legacy to pass on to future generations, it's vital that Santa Fe cling to its roots. The answer lies not in isolationism, but rather in preserving the cultural vitality of the region without exploiting it. Their abandoned cities of cliff dwellings, pit houses, underground ceremonial kivas and petroglyphs etched in rocks are silent testament to the richness and resourcefulness of their culture. The Navajo and Jicarilla Apache tribes, located in or near the remote Four Corners region in northeastern New Mexico, and the Mescalero Apaches in south-central New Mexico descended from the nomadic Athapascan tribe that arrived later. Yet their artistic, architectural and culinary influence on the region is unmistakable.
Native culture permeates all aspects of life here to some degree.
It was the Pueblo Indians whom Spanish explorers first encountered when they arrived in New Mexico in the late 1500s. They found a flourishing, agrarian and relatively peaceful population living in compact, apartment-like dwellings made of stone or adobe. Spanish settlers adopted the native architecture and adapted the Indians' sophisticated underground irrigation system to their own acequia system. At the time of the first encounter, some historians estimate that close to 50,000 Indians lived on more than 100 pueblos. By 1857, they numbered only 7,000.