Galloping through Gallup (groan...)

Click on the mural for a slide show...

OK, so we have been in New Mexico for 24 hours and the rain just keeps on raining. For this weather, we could have stayed home! Nevertheless, we are enjoying our stay. Unfortunately, this has been an expensive stop, especially considering that we only chose to stay in Gallup because it is halfway between Flagstaff and Santa Fe.

This morning we piled in our little Nissan Versa, which I have temporarily dubbed "Veronica." We drove about 50 miles to the Zuni Pueblo, a living community that includes many artisans and other Indians who choose to stay on the reservation and live according to traditional Indian customs. We paid for a tour of the pueblo and one of the Old Mission of La Senora de Guadalupe.

The mission was built in 1729 by Spanish missionaries who used forced Zuni labor and then forced the Zuni to convert to Roman Catholicism on pain of torture or death. The mission was abandoned in the 19th century. It has been restored twice since then: once in 1966 and again in 2006. Nevertheless, the adobe building is sadly in need of repairs again.

After the 1966 restoration, a Zuni artist moved into the mission and took up residence. He guided tours of the mission, which today only consists of the church building and a fenced in cemetery. Apparently, he charged for the tours as a means of supporting himself. In the meantime, he painted huge murals of the Zuni Kachinas or gods on the interior walls . The practice of making images of the Kachinas is forbidden by the Zuni religion. Consequently, the artist has fallen into disrepute in the community.

The Zuni people want to restore the church building and in the process paint over the murals. The artist claims they are his private property and wants them saved before the building is restored. This controversy has held up the restoration for some years. The current tours, sponsored by the Zuni Pueblo government, are a means to pay for the restoration, when the issues have all been settled.

This is an interesting situation. For some reason, the Zuni want to restore the building, and yet only 5% of the population are practicing Catholics. The church walls are adorned with the Zuni Kachina murals above (which are not allowed to be photographed for religious reasons) and the 12 stations of the Cross below. Religious services are not held in the building, but only members of the Zuni religion can be buried in the church cemetary. It is taboo to set foot in the cemetary, except for a funeral and burial, so the grounds of the cemetary have gone to weeds and the occasional candy wrapper or beer can that has apparently blown in with the wind. Once you have trod the sacred ground in the cemetary, you must burn your shoes.

Our guide said that her father is the head of the religious arm of the Zuni Pueblo community and he is a medicine man. These functions account for about 3/4 of his time, so he is only able to work at gainful employment about one quarter time. There are many taboos about disturbing anything that has to do with ancestors; so, many buildings are abandoned after people die. About 92% of the population of the pueblo are active in the pursuit of the Zuni religion. Zuni language is taught in all grades: one hour daily in elementary school, three hours in middle school, and four hours in high school. There are also Zuni language courses available through the University of New Mexico for college credit. It appears to me that the apparent poverty among these people is in large part due to their religious and cultural beliefs and choices. That was a revelation for me, because American Indians are obviously as capable of learning, working, crafting, farming, and any other pursuit as any other Americans. So, it appears that their poverty is something they have chosen to accept as the price for maintaining their culture and religion.

Our tour also included a walk around a neighborhood of homes constructed of either adobe bricks or sandstone blocks. (There is a picture in the slide show of adobe bricks on the left next to a pile of sandstone blocks.) The poverty is evident. Every home has a Zuni oven. In the slide show there is a picture of a row of these ovens. They look like bee hives. The ovens are constructed of sandstone blocks and covered with adobe mud mixed with straw. A fire is built in the center, and then pots of food are placed around the perimeter and cooked overnight, as in a slow cooker. Alternatively, the center is cleared and sourdough bread is baked with the fire around the perimeter, like a pizza oven. Much of the cooking done in these ovens is for ceremonial purposes.

I took very few photos on this tour, in spite of paying the $10 "photo permit" fee. One is not allowed to take pictures of certain things in the community, and people can only be photographed with their permission. The tour took about 45 minutes, and at $15 a head didn't seem like a good value. Perhaps, I am just spoiled because I was not able to use my National Parks senior pass here.

On our way back to "camp," we stopped in Gallup and visited a "Trader" shop. Most of the business in Gallup seems to revolve around selling Indian wares. I must say, the artisans who create these items are very talented and creative. We saw everything from jewelry to pottery to bows and arrows to figurines (called fetishes) of animals. Some of the items are really gorgeous, and the prices attest to that fact. We bought a modest piece of pottery and a pair of earrings for Jill.

After our shopping spree, we had lunch at a little place called Camille's Sidewalk Cafe. The weather didn't permit sidewalk dining today, but the food was wonderful. It is served fast food style: order here, leave your name, pick up over there when your name is called. It was great fun.

Lunch was followed by a short, self-guided walking tour of Gallup's downtown area. We took photos of some of the architecture and several murals painted on the various buildings. One mural depicts Native American heroes from a Marine brigade in WWII.

We are staying at the USA RV Park, which I surmise is owned by a Viet Nam veteran. It is a very patriotic theme, as you can see in the slide show. There is a reference to POW/MIAs on the plaque in front of the statue of liberty. It was our patriotism and the location on the historic Route 66 that swayed our decision to stay here.

So, for a stopover for which we had no expectations, our stay in Gallup has been quite satisfying, educational, and enjoyable, even if it has been the most costly stop along our way!!