long before they asserted that power. In 1864, for example, the U.S. government used the Discovery Doctrine to bring the pueblos – of which Cochiti was one of many – under its control. After that time and throughout the rest
of the 19th century, the U.S. government engaged in numerous acts both official and unofficial that strained relations with the pueblos even further. Land patents, issued in 1864, allowed the U.S. government to claim pueblo land as part of the United States; administrative rulings, concluding the government could not afford to buy out non-native squatters on pueblo lands, not only allowed squatters to remain but encouraged land sales to private individuals; and an 1876 Supreme Court ruling (United States versus Joseph) not only denied pueblo people the right to citizenship and federal protection, but by questioning the right of pueblo people to own their own land (arguing it was the Spanish government – not the U.S. government – who originally gave the land to the pueblos) it opened the door to additional “outsiders” settling on or engaging in business practices on pueblo lands.
The 20th century found pueblo people reasserting and regaining their rights. For example, in the 1920s, Pueblo peoples re-established the All-Indian Pueblo Council (AIPC) to defend their lands and access to crucial resources like water and timber. The council represents the 19 pueblos in New Mexico as well as one in Texas, and it fought for such issues as sovereign rights, retention and promotion of language and cultural traditions as well as for adoption of the Pueblo Lands Claims Act and the Indian Civil Rights Acts of 1968. But it is wrong to say that all bias toward and discrimination against pueblo people has ended.
Cochiti Pueblo remains a federally designated tribal reservation today, comprising 53,779
acres (217.64 km2) of land. In many ways, the pueblo has not changed much over the years. In 1700, about 500 people lived in the pueblo. Today, approximately 528 people live in the pueblo (with an estimated 900+ living outside the pueblo). Circumstances within the pueblo are pretty dire: per capita income stands at $28,169 (3/4 the average U.S. rate) and median household income at $44,732 (1/2 the average U.S. rate), while the poverty rate stands at 15.2% percent (20 higher than the average U.S. rate).2
Given these statistics and its history, it is no wonder that the pueblo revolt continues to hold significance not only because it helped Pueblo language, culture, and traditions to survive but because it continues to provide an example for self-determination.
The Ortiz Family: A Tradition of Pottery Making
People of Cochiti are known for their contributions to the arts. Of note is the tradition of pottery making in the pueblo, and the Ortiz family must be recognized as one of the most important families who have kept this tradition alive at Cochiti.
The family of renown potters extends backward, forward, and sideways. Laurencita Herrera (1912–1984) was Virgil Ortiz’s grandmother, Seferina Ortiz (1931-2007) was his mother: both were renown potters
specializing in figurative pottery (storytellers
and vessels). Janice, Inez, and Joyces are Virgil
Of note is the tradition of pottery making in the pueblo, and the Ortiz family must be recognized as one of the most important families who have kept this tradition alive at Cochiti.
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