Zia Bluffs, Sandoval County
Current Population: 2,300
Language: Eastern Keres
Location: 1,280 acres located just north of Algodones, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe in Sandoval County
Early Social Structure: Agrarian, Exogamous, Matrilineal clans with ritual patrimoieties and dual kivas
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Keres-speaking people are believed to have once lived in the area surrounding Chaco Canyon. Migrating out of the canyon due to climate issues such as drought along with other changes, the ancestors of Zia left their homes to settle in the Jemez Mountains.
Located between the slopes of the Sierra Nacimiento Mountains and the San Pedro River Valley, the Zia people have long lived an agricultural lifestyle, primarily growing corn, beans, and squash in shared or common ground, to which everyone contributed.
Zia Pueblo is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Zia Pueblo was settled around 1250AD. At least 5,000 (and as many as 20,000) people were living at Zia when the Spanish arrived. It was one of the largest Pueblos, with eight plazas. It was a vibrant place as it was at the center of trade routes.
Nearly Destroyed
The Zia joined in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
In 1689, Governor Jironza de Cruzate, who was based in El Paso, attacked Zia Pueblo in an attempt to retake the territory. This was one of the bloodiest battles at this time. Jironzo massacred 600 people from Zia then burned the village and enslaved 70 people for at least 10 years.
The violence of this attack caused many Pueblo people to flee (several tribes went to stay with the Hopi). But, because Jironzo was not equipped to continue inflicting his violence on other pueblos, he retreated back to El Paso.
By 1690, fewer than 300 people remained at Zia - and fewer than 100 by 1890.
In 1692, as a means of survival, the people of Zia accepted mass baptism and, over the next decade, collaborated with the Spanish in campaigns against other pueblos.
Stolen Symbol
The Zia Sun Symbol is an ancient and sacred symbol of deep meaning for the Zia. Four is a sacred number that symbolizes the Circle of Life: four winds, four seasons, four directions, and four sacred obligations. The circle binds the four elements of four together. This symbol represents their identity, beliefs, and way of being.
In the 1890s, the Zia opened their community to anthropologist James Stevenson. They thought they had a trusting relationship, even allowing him to attend sacred ceremonies. Stevenson betrayed that trust and stole a piece of pottery with the sacred symbol on it. He displayed it in Santa Fe.
in 1923, when the state of New Mexico launched a contest for a flag design, another anthropologist, Harry Mera, used the sacred symbol as his contest entry. The symbol was officially adopted as the state flag in 1925.
At this time, the Zia were not U.S. citizens and so had way to oppose this use of their sacred symbol. The Zia sun symbol was appropriated without the consent of the Zia and it eventually became a part of public domain. Now, the Zia are continually forced to witness the sacred symbol desecrated. Archaeologists have defended Stevenson’s theft. The rapid reduction in tribal numbers led archaeologists to worry the tribe and all of their knowledge would disappear.
In 2018, the governor of Zia Pueblo, Anthony Delgarito, spoke at the World Intellectual Property Organization’s the 38th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. He spoke of the appropriated symbol and he asked that the general public request persmission to use the symbol, and to contribute to a scholarship fund so that children have the opportunity for a sound education.
June Lorenzo, a lawyer advocating in tribal and domestic courts and legislative and international human rights bodies, said “We don’t have a belief that our epistemologies are supposed to be shared with the rest of the world. This idea of the public domain is really a threat to what we hold most sacred.”
Learning from their experience, the Zia no longer allow anyone to attend ceremonies.
