Pueblo Nations: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History [Hardcover]

Joe Sando (Author), Regis Pecos (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1992

"An important and rare book. Clearly written and fairly presented, a first-hand synthesis of American Indian history and culture.... Sando has made a valuable contribution to American Indian history". (American Historical Review)

"This book is absolutely unique, the most intimate look at 20th-century Pueblo Indian life in New Mexico available today". (Alfonso Ortiz, writer and anthropologist, San Juan Pueblo)

"The first insider's story of the 800-year history of the 19 pueblos in New Mexico. This is an excellent book". (New York Times)

"A blend of traditional history and ethnography, sensitively written by a respected elder". (Choice)

Highly regarded by Native Americans as well as Anglo and Hispanic historians, Sando's book covers the origins and development of Pueblo civilization, the Spanish conquest, the Pueblo Revolt, the influence of the United States government in Pueblo history, and the issues of land and water rights so vital to the survival of Pueblo people today.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Written by a Native American author from the Jemez Pueblo near Santa Fe, this updates his Pueblo Indians (Indian Historical Pr., 1976), and complements his Nee Hemish: A History of Jemez Pueblo (Univ. of New Mexico Pr., 1982). Discussed are origins and development of Pueblo civilization, Spanish conquest, the Pueblo Revolt of the 1680s, land, water, survival, and U.S. government influence. Text, maps, and bibliography are close to Pueblo Indians; new additions include recent events, discussion of the "Colubmian Quincentenary and the Pueblo Indians," and additional photographs. Students of modern Pueblo history may wish to read Pueblo Nations in tandem with R.C. Gordon-McCutchan's The Taos Indians and the Battle for Blue Lake (Red Crane Bks., 1991). Author-educator Sando's work may help Pueblos understand their history from a Native American perspective and will illuminate Pueblo struggles and heritage for other readers. This is recommended for Native American and general collections that lack the earlier book or need an update of it.
-Margaret W. Norton, Fenwick H.S., Oak Park, Ill.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

. . . the first insider's story of the 800-year history of the 19 Pueblos in New Mexico. This is an excellent book. --New York Times

Written by a Native American author from the Jemez Pueblo near Santa Fe, this updates his Pueblo Indians (Indian Historical Pr., 1976), and complements his Nee Hemish: A History of Jemez Pueblo (Univ. of New Mexico Pr., 1982). Discussed are origins and development of Pueblo civilization, Spanish conquest, the Pueblo Revolt of the 1680s, land, water, survival, and U.S. government influence. Text, maps, and bibliography are close to Pueblo Indians; new additions include recent events, discussion of the Columbian Quincentenary and the Pueblo Indians and additional photographs. Students of modern Pueblo history may wish to read Pueblo Nations in tandem with R.C. Gordon-McCutchan's The Taos Indians and the Battle for Blue Lake (Red Crane Bks., 1991). Author-educator Sando's work may help Pueblos understand their history from a Native American perspective and will illuminate Pueblo struggles and heritage for other readers. This is recommended for Native American and general collections that lack the earlier book or need an update of it.
-Margaret W. Norton, Fenwick H.S., Oak Park, Ill.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Library Journal --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 282 pages
• Publisher: Clear Light Books; 1St Edition edition (August 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0940666170
• ISBN-13: 978-0940666177
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,293,751 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written history from a unique perspective., February 19, 2001

By 

Michael Reding (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pueblo Nations: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History (Paperback)

As a member of the Sun Clan of the Jemez people, Joe Sando was in a unique position to research and write this history. As a scholar trained at Eastern New Mexico State and at Vanderbilt, he developed his skills as an historian. As a person he retained his empathy and humanity while confronting the unjust policies that have been visited on the Pueblo peoples by the Spanish, Mexican and United States governments. If you are interested in a well-balanced, incisive history of the New Mexico Pueblo people (the Hopi are not covered here), this book is worth the money to buy, the effort to read and the time to understand.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Compact history from a Pueblo point of view, January 30, 2011

By 

Efrem Sepulveda "history geek" (Tempe, AZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pueblo Nations: Eight Centuries of Pueblo Indian History (Paperback)

At 282 pages (hardback version), Joe Sando presented a unique prespective on the history of the Pueblo Indians, a confederation of tribes that stretch from the Zuni Pueblo on the New Mexico-Arizona state line to Taos Pueblo in North Central New Mexico. There is some remarks in this book that the Hopis are part of this confederation as well.

The book covers the history of the people from before the entrance of the Spaniards to the time of the book's publication in 1992. The Pueblo Revolt gets proper coverage with the interesting statement that the reputed leader of the revolt, Po-Pay, was little more than a associate of the campaign as most of the names of the leaders are lost to history. The oppresion and the foolish forced conversions to Christianity from the Spaniards as well as rival tribes such as the Apaches and the Navajos are explained from a viewpoint that the Pueblos just wanted to left alone and to pursue their agricultural way of life.

Other subjects covered include the adjustment of the Pueblo peoples to modern society and their education, difficulties with the United States that resulted in the taking of their lands and the their governmental structure which dates back to Spanish occupation. There is also an in-depth section that details nine Pueblo people that have shaped their history including Pablo Abeita, Sotero Ortiz, Mateo Aragon and Martin Vigil.

The book is richly illustrated with an extensive timeline of Pueblo history, a copy of the All Indian Pueblo Council Constitution, feast days of each Pueblo and some statistics. A nice bibliography, but no index. If one has to read a short, yet concise book on these people, I would recommend this one wholeheartly.