Popé
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Popé (Po'pay) (born ca. 1630 - died prior to 1692) was a Tewa religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as San Juan Pueblo), who led the Pueblo Revolt against Spanish colonial rule in 1680.
Popé is one of 47 Native Americans who were accused, arrested and tried for practicing "sorcery" in 1675. Three of the men who were found guilty were taken to their respective villages; two were hanged. One hanged himself before the Spanish could. The remaining 44 were publicly whipped and sentenced to prison.
When word of this reached the Pueblo leaders they moved in force to Santa Fe, where the prisoners were being held. The Spanish governor, Juan Francisco de Treviño, released the prisoners due to the fact that a large number of his soldiers were away from Santa Fe fighting the Apache.
Popé returned home, deeply affronted by what had happened. Shortly thereafter, he moved north to Taos Pueblo, where the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is believed to have been planned. The Pueblo Revolt sought to rid Spanish settlers from the traditional Puebloan lands and preserve the traditional Pueblo way of life.
In 1692, shortly after Popé's death, Spanish control was reasserted, but under much more lenient terms. During this new era, the Spanish did not actively attempt to eradicate the Pueblo languages and religion, which still flourish today.
It is for this reason that the people of New Mexico chose to honor Popé by erecting his statue in Washington D.C. The statue of Popé by Pueblo sculptor Cliff Fragua was dedicated in the rotunda of the United States Capitol on September 22, 2005. It is one of two statues presented by New Mexico to the National Statuary Hall Collection.
[edit] References
- Etulain, Richard W., ed. New Mexican Lives: Profiles and Historical Stories. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2002.
- Fergusson, Erna. New Mexico: A Pageant of Three Peoples. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955.
- Knaut, Andrew L. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680; Conquest and Resistance in Seventeenth-Century New Mexico. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995.
- New Mexico Writers Project. New Mexico: A Guide to the Colorful State, Compiled by the Workers of the Writer's Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of New Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1940.
- Sandro, Joe S. and Herman Agoyo. Po'pay: Leader of the First American Revolution. Santa Fe: Clear Light Publishing, 2005.
