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| New Mexico exhibit in Smithsonian |
February 02, 2004 |
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By Tia Shirley
Tia Shirley is an intern at Congresswoman Heather Wilson’s office, and is currently a junior at Evangel Christian Academy. She is Student Body Vice President, as well as Captain of the girl’s Varsity Volleyball team. She is interested in pursuing music and law in the future.
A new exhibit is being featured in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. The Exhibit called “American Encounters”, is telling the story of the set of encounters that began in New Mexico in 1539. The exhibit is divided into five sections; and it examines the history of the early American Indians and Hispanics that first settled New Mexico. It features information on how Native Americans and Hispanics struggled, fought, and compromised with the Anglo-Americans who came to the region early in the 1800s.
In the first section of the exhibit it features the Kha p’on, Indians of Santa Clara Pueblo. The Kha p’on’s ancestors first inhabited northern New Mexico about 1350. Some displays show examples of pottery dating from about 1500 to 1991; and it also includes a table set for a traditional feast-day meal.
In the second section of the exhibit it gives information on how Pueblo Indians endured the Spanish attempts to abolish their native religions, and their relentless attempts to convert them to Catholicism. Many Indians converted to Catholicism, however, they seldom abandoned their traditional beliefs. A priest’s cape decorated with an image of an Indian dancer, and a Protestant Bible in Spanish from 1871, are among the many artifacts that help tell the story.
The main focus of the third section, is the people of Chimayo`, New Mexico. Most of the people who inhabit Chimayo` are descendants of Spaniards who helped to settle the valleys of Northern New Mexico after 1695. In this section of the exhibit, it reflects on the importance of family, faith, and community. It displays military uniforms, business records, agricultural tools, and a century-old violin. Sequences of woven textiles trace changes throughout village life.
Investigating the influence of tourism in New Mexico for the past Century. This is the subject of the fourth section of the exhibit. It shows how Hispanics, Indians, and Anglo-Americans have all sought to take advantage of the tourist trade; the struggle to strike a balance between sales and what is most important to them. Items on display include: furniture, jewelry, pottery, baskets, figurines, and chili pepper lights.
This wonderful display touches on the encounters between Indians and Hispanics, as well as the encounters with others. Not every encounter has been friendly of free of violence. Even today competition for scarce resources and dominance persist. The final section of the exhibit is a video and many artifacts of present-day New Mexico that presents some of the insights and concerns of Hispanics and Indians living in New Mexico today. |
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