Santo Domingo Pueblo

Santo Domingo Pueblo is an action packed place. It has a rich culture that dates back 500 years. People share insights and illustrate key moments of their lives in a heart felt stories. The jewelry they make would cause Leonardo Da Vinci weep due to its beauty.  Men riding horses and kids running wild! By the end of reading this investigation you be surprised at the interesting things we saw and learned. So sit back, relax and enjoy this colorful and fascinating Investigation!  

As you might expect, there are a lot of cultural events in the pueblo. Santo Domingo Pueblo was known for its turquoise jewelry and huge Corn Dance but not many are familiar with other parts of their culture. Spirituality is an essential and central aspect of their lives within culture. They believe in the spirit where there is love and care. They also believe in calmness and serenity, even its in hard situations. Culture is where they celebrate their history and life for every purpose they serve.

They celebrate different festival days for the different saints. The feast day of San Pedro (St. Peter) is June 29. Other recent feast days are June 22 and July 25. These festivals day have meals and watch the games. For the Feast of San Pedro, a person named Peter and Pedro give a chicken to the church for honor of their family.  The men ride horses to capture the chicken. The riders grab a chicken from hanging between 2 poles with rope at the poles. The men ride in a line past the chicken, grab the chicken, and race to give his family and keep chicken for cooking. Sometimes the village dogs chase horses because dogs were delighted to do this.

Many artists live in the community, such as the family of Mary and Anthony Lovato. They make necklaces and silver bracelets. To make a bracelet, he carves shapes into blocks of sandstone, melts silver and then pours silver into the rock mold. The two rocks are tied together and then wait and wait until the silver becomes harder. A long time ago Native Americans used different tools, but now they have new technology so they use some small machines. The jewelry the Lovatos make is the tradition of their family, passed down from generations.

Family life is central to the Santo Domingo pueblo people. Family and friends help each other, live close together, and maintain their cultural traditions. They want to preserve art and especially their native language, which is in danger of disappearing. Keeping these beliefs alive is the focus of many community members. The community is governed by a Governor and Lt. Governor, similar to our President and Vice President. A council of ten men keep the laws and act as jury in deciding cases brought to the pueblo government.

To sum it all up Santo Domingo Pueblo is an enjoyable place to visit! Amidst of all the fun, there are also valuable life lessons to be learned from them. Santo Domingo Pueblo has respect for nature, friendship and family. Their art is unique and beautiful.  Visiting the wonderful people was an opportunity of a life time. We hope one day you may get the same chance as we did!