Southwest
Pueblo
Hot and arid
In the Southwest, the people were called Pueblos, which were
descendants of the ancient Anasazi people or “ancient ones”. The name
Pueblo is a Spanish term for “town” or “village”. Therefore, Pueblo wasn’t a
tribe name, it was a village name. The more popular Pueblo villages were the
Hopi, Taos, and Zuni. Unlike the Iroguois league who had a similar language,
the different Pueblo villages did not share the same language. Following in
the footsteps of their ancestors, each Pueblo village had its own government.
The clans within the villages would choose a leader to represent them on the
Village Council. Then, when many villages needed to meet for larger issues at
a tribal council, each village chose a representative to speak for them in
order for each village to have a voice in the decisions.
The Southwest region did not have many natural resources for survival.
The land was dry and arid lacking trees and rivers. They often suffered
from periods of droughts. To help with their hardship, Pueblo people were
creative in ways to get water to their crops. They would sometimes go to
the top of a snowy hill and roll giant snowballs down the crop areas. Did you
know they were also the first to develop their own irrigation system? They
dug waterways to get water from the rivers to the areas for harvesting
crops. The Pueblos were brilliant people.
Pueblo people were creative in other ways too. They grew cotton and
the men in the clans weaved clothing. The women used clay and paints to
make beautiful pottery. They were considered to be the most skilled potters.
Women also made fascinating baskets from willow and yucca.
©P.Olivieri(RockinResources)
The people of the Southwest were hunters, gatherers, and farmers.
Although Pueblo people had some game to hunt like rabbits and elk, and wild
berries to gather, their main source of food came from harvesting crops.
They were probably the best farmers! They grew crops such as squash,
beans, and corn. Corn or “maize” was the bulk of their diet. They dried,
ground, and stored it. They grew over 24 difference varieties of corn with
yellow and blue being the most popular. A person was designated as a “sun
watcher” to let the farmers know when to plant and harvest the crops.
Most of the Southwest people lived in villages called pueblos. These were
multi-story houses made of adobe (clay and straw baked into hard bricks).
They were built on top of mesas (hills with flat tops) to keep away enemies.
Their housing was very similar to apartment buildings today. It sometimes
held an entire clan and each family had their own unit. The property was
owned by the women. Adobe homes were easy to build in their dry climate
because the mixture would mix and dry quickly. Since early Pueblo people
were mainly farmers, they traveled by foot and used these homes as their
permanent residence.
Like all Native tribes, the Southwest people had many beliefs and
customs. The Hopis would have Snake Dances. They used poisonous and
nonpoisonous snakes, but it wasn’t to worship them. This was a ceremony
to worship ancestors and to help bring rain for a good harvest. Ceremonies
and other special meetings were held in secret underground rooms called
Kivas. They were dug under the each house. Some ceremonies used
Kachina dolls to help teach their religion to the children in the clans. The dolls
were made to represent different spirits they worshipped and often times
the men would dress up like these dolls while they chanted and danced.
There is so much more to learn about the Southwest people! Conduct
your own research to discover more interesting facts!
©P.Olivieri(RockinResources)