The pot pictured above and below will be explained. Read on. My camera takes really poor detail pictures. I am sorry for that. The objectives of my photography deserve better. I really need to find the bucks for a better camera.
This pot is about three inches high and cost $55 but it is made by a member of the Aguilar family and is authentic. So I now have a sample of black on black pottery. It is not big, but I like it alot.
I did not take the picture of Maria Martinez as you can probably guess immediately. She is the most famous resident of Pueblo San Ildefonso. She died in 1980. Maria was a very talented potter who brought fame and attention to the Pueblo people. She perfected the black on black designs on her pottery. You would have to pay some serious cash to obtain one of her original pots. There are potters at the Pueblo who continue to create in the manner that she developed and they can make a living selling the pots that they create today. J and I visited Pueblo San Ildefonso while we were staying in Sante Fe this past June. If you would like to read about this amazing lady see: http://www.mariajulianpottery.com/MariaMartinezBio.html If you would like to read more about Pueblo San Ildefonso read: http://www.newmexico.org/native_america/pueblos/san_ildefonso.phpAnd if you go to New Mexico to visit the pueblo people, be sure to go to the Pueblo Culture Center in Sante Fe. The nineteen pueblo peoples built the center so it is the real deal. http://www.indianpueblo.org/
This is an old abandoned building in the Pueblo of San Ildefonso. I don't know what the building was used for, but possibly a school house. Pueblo is simply a Spanish word meaning village or town and so the communities of Indians that the Spanish "discovered" in the 1500's in what is now Arizona and New Mexico, they called pueblos. The name has stuck. The pueblo people revolted against the Spanish in a very well planned and coordinated attack led by Pope in 1680. The Spanish were completely driven out of the pueblo lands. The Spanish finally affected a return in 1694 but ruled with more compassion upon their return. To read a history of the Pueblo Revolt see: http://www.amazon.com/Pueblo-Revolt-Rebellion-Spaniards-Southwest/dp/0743255178/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219673008&sr=1-1 Oh yeah, the pueblos turned loose the horses in 1680 and that is when the American Indians first had access to the Spanish horses on a large scale. The pueblo people had no use for the horses so they were first adopted in a major way by the Commanches and then their first cousins the Shoshone who had as part of their range Southern Idaho. I think it is a tribute the people of New Mexico that they have chosen Pope to be honored as one of the two people each State can honor in the Capitol Building's Hall of Statues. Do you know the two people your State honors in the Hall of Statues? Most people do not. Idaho honors the man who commanded the Third Cavalry of Chivington's troops as the Massacre at Sand Creek in Colorado. For a well written sympathetic-to-the-Indian-view of the Sand Creek Massacre see: http://www.amazon.com/Song-Sorrow-Massacre-Sand-Creek/dp/0963636200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219673390&sr=1-1 The The Third Cavalry was the unit responsible for most of the atrocities and sexual mutilations that occured during and after the so called "Battle of Sand Creek." Personally, I am not happy at all about Idaho's choice.
The Pueblo of San Ildenfonso is said to have 1,500 residents. The old village that we visited certainly did not have 1,500 residents so I assume they are spread throughout the reservation. They are located along the Rio Grande and that is their source of water. They have impounded some water and so have a lake. One can buy a permit to fish the lake for planted fish. I cannot find any mention of their owning and operating a casino. So I assume they are one of the few pueblo people who don't own a casino. J and I concluded that the pueblos would be better served to go together and build a few large casinos than to have so many small casinos competing against one another. But what do we know! There certainly must be a large number of jobs created by the casinos. There is quite a list of San Ildefonso artisans so I expect the people make pretty good money from collectors and visitors. They certainly owe a big thank you to Maria and Julian Martinez.
The above photo pictures the son of Alfred Aguilar. I think he is Joe, but I have forgotten and his signature looks like my son D's signature. There is no telling what his name is by what he signs. The Aguilar family home is just to one's right as one walks into the Pueblo from the visitors center. The Aguilars are well known artisans and make their living with their art work. Google "Alfred Aguilar" or "Aguilar Indian Arts" and you can get some notion of their work. The father's work is much more expensive than the son's, but his is plenty expensive. I bought the small pot above which is exemplary of his work and is similar to the work first created by Maria and Julian Maritinez on this reservation. I had a nice visit with the artisan. He told me their people's version of how his people came to arrive at the present village. He prefaces his remarks with the fact that his story may not be what the archaeologists believe, but it is the story that we believe. Actually his story sounded pretty reasonable.
Picture I took from the middle of the plaza. We talked to an older lady who was watering her small flower garden. She said it was so hard to get things to grow because it was so hot and the wind blew so much. She told us she was missing her son who had gone off to school. He took care of the yard and garden. Their concerns are pretty much like anybody else's in the USA.
The Catholic Church. Most people are Catholic because of the Spanish influence, but the Catholic Church has worked into their services much of the Pueblo people's culture. What do you suppose Jesus looks like in the paintings in these pueblo Catholic Churches. Yup, pretty brown with black hair and very Indian looking. That surprise anybody? Jesus in the Homedale, Idaho Catholic Church looks very Hispanic.
Oops, the above picture shows up again and I have not figured out to delete these duplicate pictures.
This is an old abandoned building in the Pueblo of San Ildefonso. I don't know what the building was used for, but possibly a school house. Pueblo is simply a Spanish word meaning village or town and so the communities of Indians that the Spanish "discovered" in the 1500's in what is now Arizona and New Mexico, they called pueblos. The name has stuck. The pueblo people revolted against the Spanish in a very well planned and coordinated attack led by Pope in 1680. The Spanish were completely driven out of the pueblo lands. The Spanish finally affected a return in 1694 but ruled with more compassion upon their return. To read a history of the Pueblo Revolt see: http://www.amazon.com/Pueblo-Revolt-Rebellion-Spaniards-Southwest/dp/0743255178/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219673008&sr=1-1 Oh yeah, the pueblos turned loose the horses in 1680 and that is when the American Indians first had access to the Spanish horses on a large scale. The pueblo people had no use for the horses so they were first adopted in a major way by the Commanches and then their first cousins the Shoshone who had as part of their range Southern Idaho. I think it is a tribute the people of New Mexico that they have chosen Pope to be honored as one of the two people each State can honor in the Capitol Building's Hall of Statues. Do you know the two people your State honors in the Hall of Statues? Most people do not. Idaho honors the man who commanded the Third Cavalry of Chivington's troops as the Massacre at Sand Creek in Colorado. For a well written sympathetic-to-the-Indian-view of the Sand Creek Massacre see: http://www.amazon.com/Song-Sorrow-Massacre-Sand-Creek/dp/0963636200/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1219673390&sr=1-1 The The Third Cavalry was the unit responsible for most of the atrocities and sexual mutilations that occured during and after the so called "Battle of Sand Creek." Personally, I am not happy at all about Idaho's choice. The Pueblo of San Ildenfonso is said to have 1,500 residents. The old village that we visited certainly did not have 1,500 residents so I assume they are spread throughout the reservation. They are located along the Rio Grande and that is their source of water. They have impounded some water and so have a lake. One can buy a permit to fish the lake for planted fish. I cannot find any mention of their owning and operating a casino. So I assume they are one of the few pueblo people who don't own a casino. J and I concluded that the pueblos would be better served to go together and build a few large casinos than to have so many small casinos competing against one another. But what do we know! There certainly must be a large number of jobs created by the casinos. There is quite a list of San Ildefonso artisans so I expect the people make pretty good money from collectors and visitors. They certainly owe a big thank you to Maria and Julian Martinez.
The above photo pictures the son of Alfred Aguilar. I think he is Joe, but I have forgotten and his signature looks like my son D's signature. There is no telling what his name is by what he signs. The Aguilar family home is just to one's right as one walks into the Pueblo from the visitors center. The Aguilars are well known artisans and make their living with their art work. Google "Alfred Aguilar" or "Aguilar Indian Arts" and you can get some notion of their work. The father's work is much more expensive than the son's, but his is plenty expensive. I bought the small pot above which is exemplary of his work and is similar to the work first created by Maria and Julian Maritinez on this reservation. I had a nice visit with the artisan. He told me their people's version of how his people came to arrive at the present village. He prefaces his remarks with the fact that his story may not be what the archaeologists believe, but it is the story that we believe. Actually his story sounded pretty reasonable.
Picture I took from the middle of the plaza. We talked to an older lady who was watering her small flower garden. She said it was so hard to get things to grow because it was so hot and the wind blew so much. She told us she was missing her son who had gone off to school. He took care of the yard and garden. Their concerns are pretty much like anybody else's in the USA.
The Catholic Church. Most people are Catholic because of the Spanish influence, but the Catholic Church has worked into their services much of the Pueblo people's culture. What do you suppose Jesus looks like in the paintings in these pueblo Catholic Churches. Yup, pretty brown with black hair and very Indian looking. That surprise anybody? Jesus in the Homedale, Idaho Catholic Church looks very Hispanic.
Oops, the above picture shows up again and I have not figured out to delete these duplicate pictures.The picture below shows the Visitors Center and small museum. This is where one pays his fees. 
The above picture was taken from the Visitors Center parking lot. The home pictured is outside of the old village. The pueblos charge people for the privilege of walking through their villages and if one wants to take pictures there is a charge per camera. They require a dated tag to be attached to each camera. The pueblos vary on the amount they charge per visitor and how much they charge for the privilege of taking pictures. San Ildefonso charges $3 per carload, but the Taos Pueblo charges $10 per person and $5 for each camera. It is money well spent. Take your time strolling through the pueblos. The people are very friendly and you can sit and chat with them about many things. The are secretive about their religion and history so you can seek an answer in those areas, but don't be surprised if you have the subject changed by their response. They have experienced some pretty bad treatment at the hands of the European and American people, so their response today to us Euro-Americans should not be surprising.
This is the Aguilar home where one can purchase their works of arts and talk to the family members. I found the son to be very friendly and willing to answer my questions about their culture.
I will be telling of our other visits to some of the pueblos and some of our thoughts about Santa Fe. I will also show some pictures of our Chaco Canyon visit. To me Chaco Canyon is most interesting and a wonderful place to visit.
The above picture was taken from the Visitors Center parking lot. The home pictured is outside of the old village. The pueblos charge people for the privilege of walking through their villages and if one wants to take pictures there is a charge per camera. They require a dated tag to be attached to each camera. The pueblos vary on the amount they charge per visitor and how much they charge for the privilege of taking pictures. San Ildefonso charges $3 per carload, but the Taos Pueblo charges $10 per person and $5 for each camera. It is money well spent. Take your time strolling through the pueblos. The people are very friendly and you can sit and chat with them about many things. The are secretive about their religion and history so you can seek an answer in those areas, but don't be surprised if you have the subject changed by their response. They have experienced some pretty bad treatment at the hands of the European and American people, so their response today to us Euro-Americans should not be surprising.
This is the Aguilar home where one can purchase their works of arts and talk to the family members. I found the son to be very friendly and willing to answer my questions about their culture.
I will be telling of our other visits to some of the pueblos and some of our thoughts about Santa Fe. I will also show some pictures of our Chaco Canyon visit. To me Chaco Canyon is most interesting and a wonderful place to visit.
Well, it is time for Papa Coyote to hit the sack,
Bye, Bye
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