_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.