Popé (ˈpoʊ-peɪ) (born ca. 1630 - died ca 1688) was a
TewaThe Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo American Indians who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe...
religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as San Juan Pueblo), who led the
Pueblo RevoltThe Pueblo Revolt of 1680 or Popé's Rebellion was an uprising of many pueblos of the Pueblo people against Spanish colonization of the Americas in the New Spain province of New Mexico.-Background:...
against
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
colonial rule in 1680.
Popé is one of 47
Native AmericansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
who were accused and arrested for practicing "
sorceryMagic, sometimes known as sorcery, is the practice of consciousness manipulation and/or autosuggestion to achieve a desired result, usually by techniques described in various conceptual systems...
" in 1675. Three of the men were
hangedHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. It hurts a lot. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", although it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would...
. One
hanged himselfSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
before the Spanish could. The remaining 44, including Popé were publicly whipped and sentenced to
prisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and jail , although in the United States "jail" and "prison" refer to different subtypes of correctional facility...
.
When word of this reached the Pueblo leaders they moved in force to
Santa FeSanta Fe is the capital of the state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 62,203 at the April 1, 2000 census; the estimate for July 1, 2006, is 72,056...
, where the prisoners were being held.
Popé (ˈpoʊ-peɪ) (born ca. 1630 - died ca 1688) was a
TewaThe Tewa are a linguistic group of Pueblo American Indians who speak the Tewa language and share the Pueblo culture. Their homelands are on or near the Rio Grande in New Mexico north of Santa Fe...
religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as San Juan Pueblo), who led the
Pueblo RevoltThe Pueblo Revolt of 1680 or Popé's Rebellion was an uprising of many pueblos of the Pueblo people against Spanish colonization of the Americas in the New Spain province of New Mexico.-Background:...
against
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
colonial rule in 1680.
Popé is one of 47
Native AmericansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
who were accused and arrested for practicing "
sorceryMagic, sometimes known as sorcery, is the practice of consciousness manipulation and/or autosuggestion to achieve a desired result, usually by techniques described in various conceptual systems...
" in 1675. Three of the men were
hangedHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. It hurts a lot. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", although it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would...
. One
hanged himselfSuicide is the intentional killing of one's self. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"...
before the Spanish could. The remaining 44, including Popé were publicly whipped and sentenced to
prisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and jail , although in the United States "jail" and "prison" refer to different subtypes of correctional facility...
.
When word of this reached the Pueblo leaders they moved in force to
Santa FeSanta Fe is the capital of the state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 62,203 at the April 1, 2000 census; the estimate for July 1, 2006, is 72,056...
, where the prisoners were being held. The Spanish governor, Juan Francisco de Treviño, released the prisoners because a large number of his soldiers were away from Santa Fe fighting the
ApacheApache is the collective term for several culturally related groups of Native Americans in the United States originally from the American Southwest. These indigenous peoples of North America speak a Southern Athabaskan language, and are related linguistically to the languages of Athabaskan...
.
Popé returned home, deeply angered by what had happened. Shortly thereafter, he moved north to
Taos PuebloTaos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about 1 mile north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA...
, where the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is believed to have been planned. The Pueblo Revolt sought to expel Spanish settlers from the traditional Puebloan lands and preserve the traditional Pueblo way of life. The revolt succeeded, driving the Spanish from virtually all of New Mexico
In 1692, following Popé's death, Spanish control was reasserted, but under much more lenient terms. During this new era, the Spanish no longer actively attempted to eradicate the Pueblo languages and religion, which still flourish today.
For this reason the people of New Mexico chose to honor Popé by erecting his statue in Washington D.C. The statue by Pueblo sculptor Cliff Fragua was dedicated in the rotunda of the
United States CapitolThe United States Capitol is the meeting place of the United States Congress, the legislature of the Federal government of the United States. Located in Washington, D.C., it sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. Though not in the geographic center of the District of...
on September 22, 2005. It is one of two statues presented by
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
to the
National Statuary Hall CollectionThe National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol comprises statues donated by individual states to honor persons notable in their history...
.
Cultural References
Pope is mentioned by the controversial Taos priest Father Martinez in
Willa Cather'sWilla Siebert Cather was an American author who grew up in Nebraska. She is best known for her depictions of frontier life on the Great Plains in novels such as O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and The Song of the Lark.- Early life :Born Wilella Siebert Cather in 1873 on a small farm in the Back Creek...
Death Comes for the ArchbishopDeath Comes for the Archbishop is a 1927 novel by Willa Cather. It concerns the attempts of a Catholic bishop and a priest to establish a diocese in New Mexico Territory....
, as leader of the Indian revolt which "so added to Spanish martyrology."