Pueblo of Isleta

Pueblo of Isleta
Ruins at Pueblo of Isleta
Location U.S. 85, Isleta, New Mexico
Coordinates 34°54′31″N 106°41′30″W / 34.90861°N 106.69167°W / 34.90861; -106.69167Coordinates: 34°54′31″N 106°41′30″W / 34.90861°N 106.69167°W / 34.90861; -106.69167
Area 155 acres (63 ha)
Built 1613
Architectural style Pueblo Style
NRHP Reference # 75001162[1]
Added to NRHP September 5, 1975
Francisca Chiwiwi, Isleta Pueblo, circa 1925? Photo by Edward Curtis.
Adobe San Agustín de la Isleta Mission, with wooden Gothic Revival elements introduced by Padre Anton Docher, shown in 1925.
Isleta Lakes Recreational Complex and tribal casino.

Pueblo of Isleta (or Isleta Pueblo), is known as Shiewhibak in their Isletan Tiwa language, meaning "flint kick-stick place". It is an unincorporated community Tanoan pueblo in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States, originally established around the 14th century. Its people are federally recognized as a Native American tribe.

Pueblo of Isleta is located in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, 13 miles (21 km) south of Albuquerque. It is adjacent to and east of the main section of Laguna Pueblo. The pueblo was built on a knife-shaped reef of lava running across an ancient Rio Grande channel.[2] The Isleta Pueblo Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On January 15, 2016, the tribe's officials and federal government representatives held a ceremony to mark the government's taking into federal trust some 90,151 acres of land, 140 square miles, which the Pueblo had purchased. It enlarged their communal territory by 50%. The tribe had worked for more than 20 years to acquire this land, once part of their homeland. It is so far the largest such acquisition handled under the President Barack Obama administration.[3]

Culture

Language and group

The population of Pueblo of Isleta consists of mostly the Southern Tiwa ethnic group (Spanish: Tigua.[4]). They speak Isletan Tiwa, one of the two varieties or dialects of the Southern Tiwa language, part of the Tanoan language family. The other variety is spoken at Sandia Pueblo. In August 2015, the tribe announced that the Tiwa language would be taught to children at Isleta Elementary School, following the school's transfer from federal to tribal control.[5]

Culturally, Pueblo groups have been usually divided into two cultural group classifications: a Western Pueblo group and an Eastern Pueblo group. Other scholars classify the pueblos into three cultural groups: the Western, Eastern, and Keresan (or Central) Pueblo groups. in either system, Pueblo of Isleta is considered an Eastern Pueblo group. The adjacent Laguna Pueblo is a Central—Keresan Pueblo group.

Tribal Government

The Pueblo of Isleta has a democratic tribal government. Their tribal constitution was approved in March 27, 1947. There are thirteen articles with the constitution. There are three (2) branches of government: legislative, executive, and judicial.

Tribal Council

The Isleta Tribal Council has 12 members. They are elected for two-year terms. Their duties are outlined within Article V - Legislative Branch of the constitution.

Governor

The governor is the top executive officer and is elected democratically. In mid-October, nominations are taken, and a general election is held the last Saturday in November. The newly elected governor selects two lieutenant governors, a sheriff, and an under-sheriff to assist during his/her governorship. The governor is bound by Article IV - Executive Branch of the constitution.

Tribal Courts

The governor appoints all tribal judges. According to the constitution, Article IX - Judicial Branch, tribal judges are appointed by the governor; and must be receive two-thirds (2/3) majority vote by the Isleta Tribal Council to be confirm. The tribal courts comprise three judges: chief judge and two associate judges. Some of the tribal judges are not law trained. Having tribal judges as political appointees can be problematic and causes distrust in the judicial system.

Social organization

Isleta (and the Sandia) have matrilineal endogamous corn groups, with descent traced through the mother's family; children are considered born to her people. These kinship and cultural divisions are connected with sacred directions and colors, as well as tribal [[Kinship#Lineages, clans, phratries, moieties, and a matrimonial sides|moiety]] system (one moiety connected with the winter, the other with the summer). The tribe also has a kiva system.

In the early 20th century, the tribe was headed by a cacique, selected by elders from a clan with hereditary rights. In addition, the tribe elected a governor and assistants. The grand council was made up of chiefs, respected leaders of the pueblo. There were distinctions between peace chiefs and those leaders appointed in war.

Kachina cults are found in Isleta. They may have adopted this cult from Laguna people of the Western Pueblos, which have historically practiced such cults for a longer period.

In a 1913 article published in The Santa Fé Magazine, Father Anton Docher, a Catholic priest serving for decades at the Pueblo church, described the community in the early 20th century:

A Cacique appointed for life, has the supreme power over his subjects. A governor is elected yearly by the people with two assistants, and occasionally a grand council meets. The governor is the judge in civil cases only (crimes are turned over to the district courts). A war captain and other officials have charge of the various celebrations and dances, such as the "dance of the kings" in January, the "tortoise dance" in February...[6]

This tribal government was fully recognized by the United States Government.

History

17th century

The name Isleta is Spanish for "little island". The native name of the pueblo is Shiewhibak (Shee-eh-whíb-bak)[7] meaning "a knife laid on the ground to play whib,[8] (a native footrace).[9]

The Spanish Mission of San Agustín de la Isleta was built in the pueblo around 1629 or 1630 by the Spanish Franciscan friar Juan de Salas.[10][11]

During the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, many of the pueblo people fled to Hopi settlements in Arizona, while others followed the Spanish retreat south to El Paso del Norte (present-day El Paso, Texas. After the rebellion, the Isleta people returned to the Pueblo, many with Hopi spouses.

In the 1800s, friction with members of Laguna Pueblo and Acoma Pueblo, who had joined the Isleta community, led to the founding of the satellite settlement of Oraibi. In the 21st century, Isleta includes the main pueblo, as well as the small communities of Oraibi and Chicale.

19th century

On October 21, 1887, the missionary Father Anton Docher of Belgium traveled to New Mexico, where he was assigned as a priest in the Cathedral of Santa Fé.[6] After three years in Santa Fé and one in Taos, he was assigned to Isleta, arriving on December 28, 1891. There, he met his long term friends Adolph Bandelier and Charles Fletcher Lummis.[12] Young Pablo Abeita (no relation to Diego or Louise Abeita) had recently been selected as Governor of Isleta, continuing into the 1930s..

Father Anton Docher served for 34 years in the historic St. Agustin Mission Church until his death in 1928. He is buried with the Padre Padilla near the altar of the church in Isleta. (Built in 1612, the church is one of the oldest in the United States.)

20th century to present

On October 26, 1919, the King of Belgium Albert I together with the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium and Prince Léopold, during their official visit to the United States of America, journeyed to Isleta. The King decorated Pablo Abeita, Governor of the Pueblo, and Father Anton Docher with the Order of Léopold.[13] Abeita gave the king a turquoise cross mounted in silver made by the Isletans.[14] 10,000 people journeyed to Isleta for this grand occasion.

Abeita had been appointed by the tribe to the Council of All Indian Pueblos, which was active in the 1920s organizing to resist political takeover of its lands. The Pueblo had an unusual land title, as the Spanish had a tradition of affirming indigenous title. When the United States took over the Southwest in 1848 following the Mexican War, it promised by treaty to preserve Spanish-Mexican titles. Abeita and other Pueblo leaders organized to raise awareness and gained passage of the Pueblo Lands Act of 1924 by the US Congress, affirming their indigenous title.

But, through takeovers by Europeans and the United States, the Pueblo continued to lose lands. Some land claims were affirmed by court cases through the 20th century (see Aboriginal title in New Mexico). Beginning in the late 20th century, the tribe's leaders worked to buy back lands to re-establish their homeland territory. In January 2016, the Secretary of Interior joined the governor of the Pueblo to celebrate the federal government taking this acquired land into trust on behalf of the Pueblo. The addition of 90,151 acres {140 square miles} increased the Pueblo's territory by 50%. The land is primarily located within what is known as Comanche Ranch. It is one of the Pueblo's profitable businesses, where they run 1,000 head of cattle.[3] They now control more than 211,000 acres.

Economy

In addition to the ranch, Pueblo of Isleta owns and operates the Isleta Resort Casino, Eagle Golf Course, and Isleta Lakes Recreational Complex. The Isleta Resort Casino is served by the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, a commuter line from Belen to Santa Fe, at Isleta Pueblo station. The casino has naming rights to the Isleta Amphitheater.

Cultural references

See also

References

  1. ↑ Staff (2009-03-13). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Lummis, Charles (1910). Pueblo Indian Folk-Stories. New York: Century Company. p. 252:1.
  3. 1 2 Mary Annette Pember, "Isleta Pueblo Score Largest Parcel of Trust Land in Single Application", Indian Country Today, 20 January 2016, accessed 20 January 2016
  4. ↑ Note that Spanish Tigua only referred to the Southern Tiwa and not the larger Tiwa grouping including the Northern Tiwa ethnic groups Taos and Picuris.
  5. ↑ Boetel, Ryan (August 2, 2015). "A new beginning for education at Isleta Pueblo". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  6. 1 2 Anton Docher. "The Quaint Indian Pueblo of Isleta," The Santa Fé Magazine, 1913, vol.7, n°7, pp. 29-32.
  7. ↑ "Knife-shaped-Ridge-where-they-play-whib."
  8. ↑ Frances Densmore. Music of Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, and Zuñi Pueblos. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1957, p.1.
  9. ↑ Lummis, Charles (1910). Pueblo Indian Folk-Stories. New York: Century Co. p. 252:1. An ancient game in which the players race many miles, kicking a small stick ahead of them. They must touch it only with their toes.
  10. ↑ Montaño, Mary Caroline (2001). Tradiciones Nuevomexicanas: Hispano Arts and Culture of New Mexico. UNM Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-8263-2137-4. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  11. ↑ Bandelier, Adolph Francis Alphonse (1890). Final Report of Investigations among the Indians of the Southwestern United States: Carried on Mainly in the Years from 1880 to 1885 ... Printed by J. Wilson and son. p. 233. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  12. ↑ Keleher and Chant. The Padre of Isleta. Sunstone Press, 2009, pp. 41 and 88, respectively
  13. ↑ Keleher and Chant. The Padre of Isleta. Sunstone Press, 2009, p. 94.
  14. ↑ W.A. Keleher. The Indian Sentinel, 1920, vol.2, pp.23-24
  15. ↑ Samuel Gance, ANTON OU LA TRAJECTOIRE D'UN PÈRE; L'histoire romancée du père Anton Docher, L'Harmattan, 2013

Bibliography

External links

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