Antiquity The Pueblo culture developed from 700 to 1100, characterized by its distinctive religious beliefs and practices and a large growth in population. The period from 1100 to 1300 CE is known as the
Great Pueblo Period, and is marked by cooperation between the Pueblo peoples and the communal Great
Kiva ritual. The Sandia Pueblo has resided in its current location since the 14th century, when they comprised over 20 pueblos. They were a thriving community, numbering 3,000 at the time of the arrival of Coronado in 1539 (in the
Pueblo IV Era).
Encounter with Westerners and life under New Spain Spanish conquistador Francisco Vásquez de Coronado "discovered" the Pueblo of Sandía in 1539 while on an expedition to discover the
Seven Cities of Cíbola. In 1610, Fray
Esteban de Perea arrived. A descendant of a distinguished Spanish family, he was Guardian, Commissary, and Custodian of the friars in New Mexico, and was responsible for the implementation of the
Inquisition in the territories under his authority. In 1617 the area became home to the seat of the Mission of San Francisco. The Spanish exacted tribute and enslaved members of the Sandía Pueblo people for labor in the building of churches and in Mexican
mines. As a result of the resentment against this abuse, the Sandía, who had already offered sanctuary for
Zía and
Jémez rebels, were one of the pueblos involved in the August 10, 1680
Po'pay-led
Pueblo Revolt against Spanish rule that drove the Spanish from the region until its reconquest by Diego de Vargas in 1692. They did not find freedom, however, as Po'pay and his successor
Luis Tupatú exacted as heavy a tribute as the Spanish and the raiding tribes had. By way of punishment for their insurrection, then
governor of the territory,
Antonio de Otermín, ordered the village, which by that time had been abandoned, burned on August 26. Having fled to neighboring
Hopi lands, the rectory at Sandía was left unprotected and was looted. The Sandía returned after each Spanish attack, with the 441 surviving Sandía resettling permanently in November 1742. In 1762, Governor Tomás Cachupín ordered the rebuilding of Sandía Pueblo (although his concern was primarily the housing of the Hopi who had found refuge there) as a buffer between the settlement at Albuquerque and the raids of the semi-nomadic
Navajo and
Apache. As a result, Sandía was raided continuously, the most deadly of such events occurring in 1775 when a
Comanche raid killed thirty. The Hopi suffered the brunt of the attack as a result of their segregation from the Sandía, which has minimized their influence in the Pueblo. As a result of wars with Spanish conquistadors and raids from neighboring indigenous nations, the Sandía Pueblo diminished, numbering 350 by 1748, and dwindling to 74 by 1900. , July 2007
Life in Mexico and the United States Rule of the territory passed to Mexican hands at the end of the Mexican War of Independence in 1820. It proved difficult to establish a new republic and govern outlying territories with a history of insubordination at the same time, and New Mexico enjoyed a brief semi-autonomous period resembling the
salutary neglect of the American colonies. In American history, this period is often referred to as the "
Wild West", in reference to relative absence of Mexican authority, which left the region open to incursion from and settlement by American pioneers. With the end of the
Mexican–American War in 1848, the territory of New Mexico was ceded to the United States.
Zebulon Pike made note of the Sandia Mountains during his 19th century expedition, calling them the "San Dies". When Indian schools were built in Albuquerque and
Santa Fe, Sandía pupils were in attendance. Nonetheless, American culture did not have a strong effect on the tribe until World War II, when the tribe sacrificed eight of their young men to the national defense. Tribal authorities have sometimes had conflicts with state and federal authorities. They have sought to assert their longstanding claim to the Sandia Mountains east of the ridge, and they strongly opposed the construction of the
Sandia Peak Tramway in 1966. The tribe opened a
casino as Bingo Hall (in a semi- permanent tent) on Bingo Loop, in 1984, but that has been replaced,as in 1994 their purpose built casino nearby opened , and it has since expanded and added a hotel to the facility. The casino's amphitheater hosts many acts passing through Albuquerque, and its proximity to the state's main urban center has made it a popular attraction among gamblers. ==Government==