Isleta
The Isleta are an Indian people and belong to the Pueblo Indians . They speak Tiwa , a language from the Kiowa-Tano language family . The name comes from the Spanish word for small island . The own name is Tuel and means city . The homonymous place of residence is the largest of all southwestern pueblos and is located on the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque in New Mexico . He has the second largest population when all the Pueblos the suburbs Chicale and Oraibi called Laguna colony to count.
history
The population of Isleta had grown rapidly in the 17th century after the reception of refugees from other Tiwa villages who sought protection from the Apache raids . Of the twenty villages that made up the southern Tiwa Province in the time of the Spaniards, only Isleta remained at the end of the 18th century.
The large number of Spanish settlers who had moved to Isleta before the Pueblo Uprising of 1680 inadvertently prevented the village from participating in the uprising. Before Governor Antonio de Otermin reached Isleta on his retreat to El Paso del Norte , however, most of the residents had left their pueblo and joined the insurgents.
In his unsuccessful attempt to retake New Mexico in 1681, Governor de Otermin attacked Isleta and various other southern Tiwa villages. He took hundreds of prisoners who he settled south of El Paso in a new village called Isleta de Sur . Descendants of this group still live there in a reserve and have taken the first steps to preserve and renew their culture.
Isleta was the only pueblo on the Rio Grande to adopt the Spanish custom of gubernatorial elections. With the transfer of power to the caciks , who usually appointed secular officials, certain leadership problems arose. Serious party disputes over the matter emerged around 1880, and dissent over the handling of village affairs and electoral procedures continues to this day. A constitution adopted in 1947 and a government in the form of a council did not yet fully solve these problems.
Way of life and culture
In Isleta, an attempt has been made to practice farming as a community enterprise with some success. Mainly grain , beans , cotton and pumpkins are grown. Even so, many residents still have their own gardens and herds of cattle. Wage labor in Albuquerque is probably the most important and easiest source of income. Silver-forged and woven handicrafts are still being produced in decreasing quantities. The so-called Isleta pottery comes from the Laguna colony, which settled in Isleta around 1880. Despite all disagreements, Isleta has an active ceremonial life. The most important religious ceremonies take place at the end of the harvest season. They mainly consist of prayers and dances to thank for a good harvest and for rain (Corn Dance on August 28th). The residents are divided into summer and winter people who are alternately responsible for the cyclical rituals .
The Church of San Antonio de la Isleta has been rebuilt and rebuilt several times, but probably contains many details of the original San Augustin de la Isleta Mission, built in 1626 . Anton Docher served in St. Agustin's Church for 34 years until his death in 1928. He is buried near the previous priest, Padre Padilla, near the altar of the church in Isleta.
Demographics
The population of Isleta was estimated to be 2,000 around 1680. At the end of the 20th century their number was around 3,650, 2,440 of them permanent residents who lived in the 851 km² reserve.
See also
literature
- William C. Sturtevant (Ed.): Handbook of North American Indians . Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington DC
- Alfonso Ortiz (Ed.): Southwest Vol. 9, 1979 ISBN 0-16004-577-0
- Alfonso Ortiz (Ed.): Southwest Vol. 10, 1983 ISBN 0-16004-579-7
- Julia M. Keleher and Elsie Ruth Chant, The Padre of Isleta: The Story of Father Anton Docher , Sunstone press Publishing, 2009.
- Willa Cather, Death comes for the archbishop . Alfred button. 1927. ISBN 978-1-4179-0423-5 .