Pueblo Indians

The Pueblo Indians isn't actually the name of a single tribe of Native Americans, but the general term for many of the tribes which lived in the southwestern United States. Among the tribes of the Pueblo are the Hopi, Acoma, Zuni, and Taos. The word Pueblo is actually Spanish for the word town or village, a name they earned from explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado when he discovered them in the middle of the 1500's, in the area that would become known as New Mexico. He saw how they lived in adobe buildings set against the walls of cliffs and eventually both these homes and the people who lived in them came to be known as Pueblos.

A peaceful group, the Pueblo were also known for their creativity and artistic ways. Their art entered their everyday lives by decorating many of their tools and much of their pottery, leading to a world-renowned reputation for their well-honed artistic skills. They derived their paint from a number of sources, among which was the leaves of the Yucca tree.

The Pueblo worshipped a variety of gods in the form of natural phenomenon, such as the Sun and rain storms. These spiritual beliefs are shared somewhat amongst the tribes of the Pueblo but even among a single tribe, like the Hopi, there were differences between what each individual village of Pueblos believed. Many of their traditions have survived to this day and some of their ceremonies are still celebrated in modern times, to maintain their history and culture as long as possible. Museums also strive to build as complete a historic record as possible of the Pueblo, their art displayed in many museums throughout the United States and abroad.