Customer Reviews

The Pueblo (Indians of North America)

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History books, even those written by Indians, tend to be dry and academic. They strive for nonjudgmental neutrality. What makes "The Pueblo" work is that Ortiz isn't afraid to express an opinion. He almost editorializes about the Indian and Spanish viewpoints, which is good.

Some examples:

"[R]elations between the Spanish and the Indians soon soured, largely because the Spanish insisted, once their own provisions were exhausted, on treating the pueblos as inexhaustible storehouses."

"Having come to find a treasure in gold an silver, expecting to live on the labor of others, the colonists proved largely unwilling to do the work required to establish a self-supporting settlement--most specifically planting and tending fields and otherwise providing for a reliable source of food."

"The friars were generally humorless and unrelenting disciplinarians with little understanding or tolerance of native tradition. For the slightest offenses--failure to attend mass, for example--Indians had their heads shaved, were whipped, or were detained in stocks."

Lines like these make the historical conflicts come alive. They give you a sense of what the Indians must've thought and felt. Of course the Spaniards were lazy aristocrats who weren't willing to get their hands dirty--but why haven't other books said so?

Overall rating: 8.5 of 10. This is a great book for schoolchildren or anyone who wants to learn about the pueblos.

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