Pueblo

Taos Pueblo, has been a center of Native-American culture since the 17th century. The Pueblo of Taos, still active today, symbolizes Indian resistance to external rule. The mission of San Geronimo, one of the earliest in New Mexico, was built near Taos Pueblo in the early 17th century. During the 18th century, Taos played an important role in resisting Spanish colonization.

Taos Pueblo (or Pueblo De Taos) is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Northern Tiwa speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the modern city of Taos.. The Red Willow Creek, or Rio Pueblo, is a small stream which flows through the middle of the pueblo from its source in the Sangre de Cristo Range. A reservation of 95,000 acres (384 km²) is attached to the pueblo, and about 2,000 people live in this area. In the Northern Tiwa language, the name of Taos is Tua-tah, which means "our village." Taos Pueblo is a member of the Eight Northern Pueblos. Taos Pueblo's most prominent architectural feature is a multi-storied residential complex of reddish-brown adobe divided into two parts by the Rio Pueblo. According to the Pueblo's Web site, it was probably built between 1000 and 1450 A.D. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on October 9, 1960, and in 1992 became a World Heritage Site. As of 2006, about 150 people live in it full-time.

The history of Taos Pueblo include the plotting of the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, a siege by U.S. forces in 1847, and the return by President Nixon in 1970 of the Pueblo's 48,000 acres (194 km²) of mountain land taken by President Theodore Roosevelt and designated as the Carson National Forest early in the twentieth century. Blue Lake, which the people of the Pueblo traditionally consider sacred, was included in this return of Taos land. The Pueblo's web site names the acquisition of the sacred Blue Lake as the most important event in its history due to the spiritual belief that the Taos natives originated from the lake itself. Most archeologists believe that the Taos Indians along with other Pueblo Indians settled along the Rio Grande migrated from the Four Corners region. The dwellings of that region were inhabited by the Anasazi, and a long drought in the area in the late 1200s, may have caused them to move to the Rio Grande where the water supply was more dependable.

Spirituality is apart of the Taos way of life.