lesson7-g6-vocabulary

Introduction
Every year, the people of Santa Fe (SAN tuh fay),
New Mexico, throw a big party. It lasts for three
days. If you ever go to this party, you will see a sight
to remember. A 50-foot-tall puppet is set on fire.
Burning it is said to get rid of the past year’s sadness.
When the flames die down, the crowd is jubilant!
Everyone rushes off to enjoy a variety of events.
There are parades, special dances, and concerts.
The Fiesta de Santa Fe has taken place every year
since 1712. It commemorates a historic event. It marks
the day in 1692 when the Spanish took back Santa Fe
from the Native Americans.
This puppet is called Zozobra, or Old Man Gloom.

Today, many Native Americans join in the party.
You may think it odd to see them there. After all, the
fiesta is about their defeat. But, as a Santa Fe reporter
once wrote, “New Mexico is a story of survival . . . the
people involved with this story learned . . . to live with
each other. . . .”
The people of Santa Fe live side-by-side now.
They value the cultures that make their city special.
Anyone who attends the fiesta recollects the shared
history of the city’s people.
The Pueblo Civilization
The story of Santa Fe originated long before
people from Europe came to America. By 1050,
Native Americans were already settled in parts
of New Mexico.
Groups near the northern Rio Grande lived
in villages. In these villages were what looked
like a multitude of large apartment buildings.
These buildings were made of stone and mud.
They had more than one story and many rooms.
The rooms on the lower floor were used for
storage. Several families lived in each building.
When the Spanish came much later, they called
these villages pueblos (PWEB lohz). The Native
Americans who lived there came to be known
by that name, too.
At the time, many Native Americans moved
around from place to place. They hunted game and
picked wild plants to eat. However, the Pueblo Indians
lived mainly by farming. They built villages to live
in year-round. They grew crops such as beans,
squash, and corn.
If the ladders were pulled up, the
dwelling would be hard to attack.

Farming is never easy. For the Pueblos, it must
have been very tough. The northern Rio Grande
region is dry. So, the Pueblos collected rainfall to
water their fields. They planted some crops deep.
That way, the roots were watered from
underground springs.
The Pueblos did not live from farming alone.
They hunted rabbits, deer, antelope, and other game.
The early Pueblos had many skills. They made
beautiful pottery. Many of their pots had rounded
bottoms. These sat on stones over the cooking
fire. Other pots stored food or household goods.
The Pueblos grew cotton and wove it into cloth.
They used dyes to make colorful patterns.
Designs were painted on the pottery
with brushes made from the yucca plant.

Pueblo society was very organized. A council
of leaders governed each village. Men usually formed
the councils. Women owned the property.
The Pueblos greatly respected nature.
They believed in spirits of nature called kachinas
(kuh CHEE nuhz). It was customary to honor
the kachinas in planting and harvesting ceremonies.
The Arrival of the Spanish
The Pueblos lived in traditional ways for hundreds
of years. Then the Spanish came. By the 1500s, Spanish
explorers came into northern New Mexico. They hoped
to take gold and silver back to Spain.
The Spanish king wanted to add New Mexico
to his empire. Spain sent settlers to live in the region.
They built towns near the Pueblo villages. Spain even
sent a governor to rule the region.
In 1610, the Spanish governor made Santa Fe
the capital of this region. He designed the city in the
Spanish style with a central square, or plaza. Settlers
held bullfights and fiestas there. They built churches
and public buildings nearby. One of them, the Palace
of the Governors, is still used today.

The Spanish borrowed some ideas from the
Pueblos. The Spanish made buildings with adobe
(uh DOH bee) bricks. The Pueblos showed them
how to make the bricks from clay and straw.
The Spanish also brought changes into the
Pueblos’ lives. They brought the Pueblos sheep, cattle,
and horses. They showed them how to use metal for
weapons and tools. In turn, they learned about the
Pueblos’ ways of watering crops in the dry region.
The Spanish, however, wanted to rule over the
Pueblos. They enslaved some Pueblos to work on their
farms. They forced the Pueblos to learn and speak
the Spanish language.

Cities of Gold
The first Spanish explorers told of cities of gold.
Some historians think what the Spanish really
saw was mica (MY kah), a shiny mineral. Clay
used to make pueblos had bits of mica in it.
Sunlight shining off of it could have given
the cities a golden glow!

The Pueblos came under intense pressure to
adopt Catholicism, the religion of Spain. The Spanish
rulers outlawed Pueblo dances. They burned sacred
objects. They punished anyone who practiced the
Pueblo ways.

The Santa Fe Trail
In the mid-1800s, a wagon road called the Santa Fe
Trail came into use. It stretched west from Missouri
to Santa Fe. Many travelers came to New Mexico
for the first time. Some were traders and soldiers.
Others went on to California in search of gold.
The trip from Missouri
to Santa Fe took about
eight weeks.

The History of Santa Fe
[1] 1050 Pueblos build their villages.
[2] 1610 Santa Fe is founded.
[3] 1680 Pueblos revolt.
[4] 1692 Spanish take back Santa Fe.
[5] 1712 First Fiesta de Santa Fe

The Pueblo Revolt
Initially, the Pueblos put up with Spanish rule.
However, Spain’s rulers were harsh. They finally
pushed the Pueblos too far. In 1680, the Pueblos
rebelled. They drove the Spanish out of Santa Fe.
For 12 years the Pueblos controlled the city. They
tried to erase all signs of the Spanish. They burned
many of the city’s public buildings. They went back
to their own ways.
In 1692, the Spanish regained control of the city.
The governor talked the Pueblos into giving up
peacefully. This is the event remembered in the
Fiesta de Santa Fe.

[6] 1821 New Mexico becomes part of Mexico’s territory.
[7] 1848 United States gains control of New Mexico.
[8] 1862 Civil War’s Confederate troops occupy Santa Fe.
[9] 1912 New Mexico becomes a state, with Santa Fe as
its capital.

In time, the Pueblos and the Spanish began
to make peace. The Spanish ruled less harshly.
The Pueblos gave in to some Spanish demands, but
kept many of their own ways. For example, Pueblo
Catholicism is a mix of Catholic and Pueblo beliefs.
Modern Santa Fe
Santa Fe’s population has changed a lot since
the 1700s. There have been marriages between
the Spanish and Pueblos. People from the eastern
states have moved to Santa Fe. Others have come
from Mexico. Even so, the Pueblo and Hispanic
cultures remain important in the city.

Today, Santa Fe is home
to more than 70,000 people.

People who live in Santa Fe are proud of their
rich heritage. They try to preserve the past. They
host events that reflect both cultures.
On the streets of modern Santa Fe, visitors often
hear Spanish spoken. They see adobe everywhere they
look. The smell of spicy burritos and the sounds of
mariachi (mah ree AH chee) music waft out from cafes.
Find the green shaded space in the middle of
the map below. That is the plaza built by the Spanish
governor. It is still the center of the city. Now art
galleries, shops, and museums surround it. Events held
there draw huge crowds.

One historic site near the
plaza is the Mission of San
Miguel (mee GEL) of Santa
Fe. It is thought to be the
oldest church in the country
still holding services. Its bell
is even older than the church
itself. The bell was made in
Spain, way back in 1356!
Historic Pueblo villages
are found throughout New
Mexico. Eight Pueblo villages
are near Santa Fe. Here, some
Native Americans live in the
houses of their ancestors.
Many practice traditional
arts. They make pottery
and weave. On feast days, the Pueblos of Santa Fe
perform their ritual dances with great agility.
They still honor the values of their culture.
Santa Fe is noted for being the oldest capital city
in the United States. More amazing is the harmony
that exists among its people of different cultures.
Viva Santa Fe! Long live Santa Fe!