Livestock at the Nexus of Spanish-Pueblo Interactions in Colonial New Mexico
European livestock such as sheep, goats, cows, and horses were all foreign to the Pueblo people when the Spanish brought them up from México to the Native settlement of Yungeh in 1598, in what is now north-central New Mexico. Over the next two-hundred years, the Puebloans became intimately familiar with these animals as they invaded Pueblo lands and the Spanish colonizers forcibly taught Pueblo people to raise them for labor and consumption as a part of the missionization effort. In 1680, Pueblo people led one of the most successful Native resistance struggles in the Americas. Although the Pueblos were eventually reconquered by the Spanish, they found numerous avenues to preserve their traditions, making them some of the most culturally continuous Native nations today. However, they also kept the practice of raising livestock, especially sheep and goats, after it was no longer strictly enforced by the Spanish. This research examines the introduction of livestock as a method of colonization during the Spanish colonial period of New Mexico, and asks how Tewa and Keresan Pueblo people in the Rio Grande Valley responded to goats and sheep. The Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Pueblo oral histories, and cultural teachings reveal that Spaniards and Pueblo people had completely different mindsets when it came to understanding the roles of animals in their societies. The Spanish thought they needed to consume their European animals in order to maintain their character. Puebloans thought of animals as spiritual beings and many formed close personal bonds with the animals that they raised. Although goats and sheep were at the nexus of the colonial process and their presence heightened many of the tensions between Spaniards and Natives, Pueblo people made connections with them outside of Spanish influence. These findings are significant because animal actors are often overlooked in narratives of historical colonialism. If Americans are to work toward re-Indigenizing this land, it is essential to understand all the tools and methods of colonization and to clarify the differences between Native assimilation, adaptation, and survivance. The Pueblos' continued relationship with goats, sheep, and other livestock incorporates all three processes.