San Juan Pueblo
San Juan Pueblo is best noted for its close association with the first Spanish settlement in New Mexico in 1598. Oñate, colonizer of New Mexico, selected a site for his first headquarters which was a part of the ancient Pueblo of San Juan. The natives living in that part of the village willingly gave up their homes to the Spaniards and were taken in by the remainder of the people of San Juan. Oñate, in appreciation for this hospitality, bestowed upon the pueblo the name San Juan de los Caballeros, a name which the pueblo is still proud to bear.
Yet this same friendly people also contributed Po-pé, the great leader of the Pueblo Revolt, to the history of New Mexico. While Po-pé shared with many other pueblo leaders a hatred of the Spanish conqueror, he was the spiritual force and the organizer of the rebellion that broke the control of the Spaniard for twelve years and returned New Mexico to the Indian. This great rebellion stands as one of the significant efforts in the history of the world of a people to cast off the bonds of foreign control.
San Juan cannot claim a church dating back to the conquistadores, but it does have one of the great landmark churches in the Southwest. In 1890, the chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes was dedicated at San Juan. It was constructed of red volcanic rock found west of the Rio Grande. This beautiful structure is an architectural jewel set in desert surroundings.
The nearly 700 people of San Juan welcome visitors to their homes; their undecorated burnished black pottery is particularly distinctive and popular. The pueblo’s annual festival is held in June.