The Indians of New Mexico
by Paige W. Christiansen
People entering New Mexico today find Indian cultures and Indian villages with traditions and ways of life that have changed little in many centuries. In this respect, man in the twentieth century shares an experience in common with Coronado, Oñate, and all the other conquistadores who visited New Mexico so many generations ago. They, too, found the ancient Indian cultures strangely magnetic and exciting. If we could but remove the asphalt highways, the billboards, the telephone poles, and fences that seem always to surround us, the Indian villages in many parts of the state would look very much as they looked to the early Spanish explorers who were the first Europeans to see them. To meet the Indians of New Mexico and to visit their homes, if possible, is one of the greatest experiences available to residents and visitors alike. Although words are inadequate to give the true flavor and excitement of the Indian and his way of life, they are all we have to introduce the various people who make up the Indian population of New Mexico.
There are two main groups that should be known. First, the Pueblo Indians, those who developed sedentary village life and who are the descendants of the first Americans in New Mexico. Second, the “newcomers” to the state, those who, for some reason or other, moved into the state to replace earlier cultures. Let us, then, visit some of these people’s homes.