Taos Pueblo

This huge adobe is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA.  The natives here like to refer to themselves as the "Red Willow" tribe even though they are considered to be one of the 19 Pueblo Nations and are specifically called the Taos Pueblo Nation.. There is no running water or electricity in this compound which dates back to 1847.  The people who live here drink and use the water from the Red Willow Creek.  There are two main structures and they are believed to be over 1000 years old.  The structures are actually many individual homes built side by side and in layers with common walls and no connecting doorways. They are made entirely of adobe, which is composed of earth they get from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, mixed with straw and water and formed into bricks. 

There are also individual adobe homes located on this reservation and most all of the residents are craftsmen of some sort selling jewelry, bakery goods, paintings, pottery, sculptures and other various Indian goods.  Behind almost every doorway is a little shop with a vendor inside working on his crafts.  

This is the San Geronimo Church which was built in 1850 and where the natives who live here still worship today.  We were not allowed to take photos of the inside nor were we allowed to take photos of any of the tribe without their permission.  The reservation is considered sacred and we were continually reminded of this.  Although most of the residents practice Catholicism that was forced on them by the government, they still practice their ancient feast days and celebrations. 

This is what is left of the original San Geronimo Church after it was destroyed by the US Army during the US War with Mexico in 1847.  The Spanish killed Governor Bent who represented the territory that is known today as Arizona and New Mexico.   The US blamed the Pueblos for this crime and retaliated by destroying the church and other buildings on the reservation. Women and children hid in the church and most did not survive.  A graveyard exists on the premises.