page_title: Acoma Pueblo
section_title: European contact
hierarchical_section_title: Acoma Pueblo / History / European contact
caption_attribution_description: English: Corner view showing mostly left wall, "Church, Acoma Pueblo [National Historic Landmark, New Mexico]." [Misicn de San Estevan del Rey, Acoma]; From the series Ansel Adams Photographs of National Parks and Monuments, compiled 1941 - 1942, documenting the period ca. 1933 - 1942.
context_page_description: Acoma Pueblo is a Native American pueblo approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. Four communities make up the village of Acoma Pueblo: Sky City, Acomita, Anzac, and McCartys. These communities are located near the expansive Albuquerque metropolitan area, which includes several large cities and towns, including neighboring Laguna Pueblo. The Acoma Pueblo tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity, whose historic land of Acoma Pueblo totaled roughly 5,000,000 acres, today much of the Acoma community is primarily within the Acoma Indian Reservation. Acoma Pueblo is a National Historic Landmark.
  According to the 2010 United States Census, 4,989 people identified as Acoma. The Acoma have continuously occupied the area for over 2000 years, making this one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. Acoma tribal traditions estimate that they have lived in the village for more than two thousand years.
context_section_description: The first mention of Acoma was in 1539. Estevanico, a slave, was the first non-Indian to visit Acoma and reported it to Marcos de Niza, who related the information to the viceroy of New Spain after the end of his expedition. Acoma was called the independent Kingdom of Hacus. He called the Acoma people encaconados, which meant that they had turquoise hanging from their ears and noses.
  Lieutenant Hernando de Alvarado of conquistador Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's expedition described the Pueblo (which they called Acuco) in 1540 as "a very strange place built upon solid rock" and "one of the strongest places we have seen." Upon visiting the Pueblo, the expedition "repented having gone up to the place." Further from Alvarado's report:
  These people were robbers, feared by the whole country round about. The village was very strong, because it was up on a rock out of reach, having steep sides in every direction... There was only one entrance by a stairway built by hand... There was a broad stairway of about 200 steps, then a stretch of about 100 narrower steps and at the top they had to go up about three times as high as a man by means of holes in the rock, in which they put the points of their feet, holding on at the same time by their hands. There was a wall of large and small stones at the top, which they could roll down without showing themselves, so that no army could possibly be strong enough to capture the village. On the top they had room to sow and store a large amount of corn, and cisterns to collect snow and water.
  It is believed Coronado's expedition were the first Europeans to encounter the Acoma. (Estevan was a native Moroccan.) Alvarado reported that first the Acoma refused entry even after persuasions but after Alvarado showed threats of an attack the Acoma guards welcomed the Spaniards peacefully noting that they and their horses were tired. The encounter shows that the Acoma had clothing made of deerskin, buffalohide, and woven cotton as well as turquoise jewelry, domestic turkeys, bread, pine nuts, and maize. The village seemed to contain about 200 men.
  Acoma was next visited by the Spanish 40 years later in 1581 by Fray Agustín Rodríguez and Francisco Sánchez Chamuscado with 12 soldiers, 3 other friars, and 13 others including Indian servants. The Acoma at this time were reported to be somewhat defensive and fearful. This response may have been due to the knowledge of the Spanish enslavement of other Indians to work in silver mines in the area. However, eventually the Rodríguez and Chamuscado party convinced them to trade goods for food. The Spaniard reports say the pueblo had about 500 houses of either three or four stories high.
  In 1582, Acoma was visited again by Antonio de Espejo for three months. The Acoma were reported to be wearing mantas. Espejo also noted irrigation in Acomita, the farming village in the north valley near San Jose River which was two leagues from the mesa. He saw evidence of intertribal trade with "mountain Querechos". Acoma oral history does not confirm this trade but only tells of common messengers to and from the mesa and Acomita, McCartys Village, and Seama.
  Juan de Oñate intended on colonizing New Mexico starting from 1595. (He formally held the area by April 1598.) The Acoma warrior Zutacapan heard of this plan and warned the mesa and organized a defense. However, a pueblo elder Chumpo dissuaded war partly to prevent deaths and partly based on Zutancalpo's (Zutacapan's son) mentioning of the widespread belief that the Spaniards were immortal. Thus, when Oñate visited on October 27, 1598, Acoma met him peacefully with no resistance to Oñate's demand of surrender and obedience reported. Oñate demonstrated his military power by firing a gun salute. Zutacapan offered to meet Oñate formally in the religious kiva, which is traditionally used as the place to make sacred oaths and pledges. However, Oñate was scared of death and in suspicious ignorance of Acoma customs refused to enter via ladder from the roof into the dark kiva chambers. Purguapo was another Acoma man out of four cho
caption: Mission San Esteban Rey was built c.1641, photograph by Ansel Adams, c.1941
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