In May 2025, I visited the Acoma Pueblo (Sky City), which sits 457 feet above the desert on a rock. The pueblo has been continuously occupied since 1200 A.D. My guide, Barnett Garcia (who may or may not have been a distant cousin), was warm and welcoming. Many of the Acoma people moved to a nearby town during the COVID-19 Pandemic for better access to health care facilities, running water, and other comforts. But the pueblo has made a concerted effort to maintain residency in the original village.

The San Esteban del Rey Mission Church was built in the mid-1600s, and it is the oldest surviving European Mission church in New Mexico. The Acoma people maintain and still use it for celebrations. The adobe is replastered annually, and the bell tower is especially impressive.

The pueblo is working hard to preserve its culture, language, and traditions despite the declining population. It was a wonderful visit to an important place in NM history. Acoma was the site of one of the bloodiest massacres. Some accounts of the massacre say that the Spanish cut off a foot of the men who were captured to prevent them from running away. The young men who survived, women, and children were enslaved. Juan de Oñate, who was responsible for and led the attack, was recalled to Spain, tried, and found guilty of war crimes. The arc of the universe may indeed bend toward justice, but before that, a terrible price is usually paid.

The Acoma have a beautiful visitor center and a bus that can take visitors to the original village. You can see the original adobe homes, horno ovens, a watering source where rain was collected for village use, and places where the original wooden vigas deteriorated, leaving only the holes behind. If you visit New Mexico, put Acoma Pueblo on your must-see list. #NewMexicoTrue