On the catholic saint's day of Santo Domingo in August 1598, conquistador Juan de Oñate had his first encounter with Kewa Pueblo. The Pueblo was subsequently named "Santo Domingo".^[7] Its earliest recorded name was Gipuy.^[8] According to Pueblo Council members, the local name in their Keres language has always been Kewa. In 2009, the pueblo officially changed its name to Kewa Pueblo, altering its seal, signs and letterhead.^[3]

According to the Pueblo of Acoma's Keres Online Dictionary, the Western Keresan-name for the pueblo was Díiwʾi and for its people therefore Dîiwʾamʾé.^[9]

Kewa Pueblo is located at 35°30′52″N 106°21′48″W / 35.51444°N 106.36333°W / 35.51444; -106.36333 (35.514483, -106.363429).^[10] The pueblo is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Santa Fe. Interstate 25 runs 4 miles (6 km) to the east of the community. The pueblo is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Santo Domingo CDP that overlays the pueblo has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.2 km²), all land.

The 2010 census found that 2,456 people lived in the CDP,^[4] while 3,519 people in the U.S. reported being exclusively Santo Domingo Puebloan^[12] and 4,430 people reported being Santo Domingo Puebloan exclusively or in combination with another group.^[13]

The state of New Mexico has reported the population as 3,100.^[14]

The pueblo plays a supporting role in Spanish colonial history. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado made first contact with Kewa in 1540. When the Spanish first came to the Rio Grande Valley, they found over 70 villages that manufactured goods and had a strong trade network. Kewa was one of these villages. After first contact, Spanish expeditions into the area continued, one of them being Juan de Oñate's expedition in 1598. Oñate arrived in Kewa Pueblo with the intention of bringing Kewa and pueblos in its vicinity under Spanish rule. Soon after his visit, a mission was established and a church was built. In 1680, Kewa and other nearby pueblos rose in revolt against their Spanish colonizers, killing four priests and Spanish settlers nearby. Similar strife occurred again during the tail end of Spanish colonization in the area in 1696. In both cases, the revolts were eventually quelled by the Spanish. A century later, in 1807, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike visited Kewa. In his journal, he described the church as adorned with elegantly ornamented paintings, one of which being Saint Domingo.^[15]

Gaspar Castaño de Sosa, a fugitive from the Crown, was arrested at the pueblo in March 1591. Castaño, a notorious slaver, had fled capture. He pursued an illegal claims expedition up the Pecos River, which had not yet been seen by Europeans. He made it as far as Pecos Pueblo, and raided it for slaves. He turned west and traveled toward modern-day Santa Fe, which had been established by the Spanish. He followed the Rio Grande river valley south. On orders of the Viceroy at Mexico City, Captain Juan Morlette found Castaño at Kewa Pueblo and arrested him. He returned him to authorities to face trial for his crimes, including his attack on Pecos Pueblo.^{[citation needed]}

Castaño abandoned two interpreters at Kewa Pueblo; he had kidnapped them earlier and brought them with him. Governor Juan de Oñate's expedition recorded encountering Tomas and Cristobal at Kewa Pueblo, as it traveled north.^{[citation needed]}

20th century to present edit

Potters of Kewa and Cochiti Pueblos have made stylized pottery for centuries, developing styles for different purposes and expressing deep beliefs in their designs. Since the early decades of the 20th century, these pots have been appreciated by a wider audience outside the pueblos. Continuing to use traditional techniques, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, potters have also expanded their designs and repertoire in pottery, which has an international market.

Kewa Indians, similar to other Indian populations in the Rio Grande region, believe their people emerged from the inner earth from a place in the north called Shipap. As the legend goes, from Shipap they migrated southwards, breaking off into smaller groups along the way. These breakaway groups would go on to found other pueblos.^[15]

The highest official in the pueblo is called the Cacique. Although he is the highest ranking official, he does not serve as ruler. Rather, he serves as a priest, and conducts a multitude of religious ceremonies.^[15]

Kewa artists are known for their stonework jewelry,^[16] including flat disks or beads called heishi, meaning "shell bead" in Eastern Keresan, which are often made into necklaces.^[17][18]

Pottery edit

Pottery is an important art form and utilitarian craft from Kewa Pueblo.^[19][20] Large ollas and dough bowls are common forms for Kewa potters. Many Kewa potters are women, although men can also create ceramics.^[16][19] In the 1920's, tourism catalyzed by a nearby railway stop in the town of Wallace, drew attention to Kewa and its pottery. Pottery would become a valuable export for Kewa during this time.^[21]

The Aguilar Family, consisting of two sisters and one sister-in-law, created Kewa pottery from 1910 until approximately 1915 and became very well-known for their artwork.^[22][23]

Robert Tenorio has continued his family legacy by making traditional Kewa pottery,^[24] and Tenorio's sister was part of a well-known husband-wife pottery collaboration called, Arthur and Hilda Coriz.^[25]

It is in the Bernalillo Public Schools district,^[26] which operates Santo Domingo Elementary and Middle Schools,^[27] and Bernalillo High School.

The school district states that Cochiti Elementary and Middle Schools in Peña Blanca and Bernalillo Middle School have students from Kewa Pueblo.^[28] Bernalillo Middle School (a zoned middle school of this community),^[29] Some elementary-aged students from Kewa Pueblo attend Algodones Elementary School in Algodones.^[30]

• Chapman, Kenneth Milton (1977). The Pottery of Santo Domingo Pueblo: A Detailed Study of Its Decoration. School of American Research, University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, New Mexico, ISBN 0-8263-0460-5; original published in 1936 as volume 1 of the Memoirs of the Laboratory of Anthropology OCLC 3377512
• Richard H. Frost, The Railroad and the Pueblo Indians: The Impact of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa fe on the Pueblos of the Rio Grande, 1880-1930. 2016, Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-1-607-81440-5
• Verzuh, Valerie K. (2008). A River Apart: The Pottery of Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos. Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe, New Mexico, ISBN 978-0-89013-522-8

• Santo Domingo Pueblo
• Keres Pueblo Indians – Encyclopedia of World Cultures