Zuni

On November 17, we went to Zuni, New Mexico. Zuni is known for its artists. They make pottery, paintings, fetishes (tiny statues). We stopped at a trading post in Zuni that had all of these along with jewelry and Navajo pottery.

Zunis have a unique societal structure. They live all together in pueblo buildings. Sometimes as many as 5 immediate families will live in the same complex. Community is very important to the Zunis. When we talked to a teacher at the Zuni mission school, she said that when she visited students' houses for parent-teacher conferences, sometimes she didn't know if she was talking to the child's parent or another family member.

We toured the Zuni mission school. It was a K-8th school and a church. They're preparing to add a huge addition to the school. The part we toured that was finished was beautiful. The teachers who gave us the tour said the students really enjoyed the new building.

We also went  to see the old Spanish mission. Unfortunately, we couldn't go inside but outside was a cemetery. The cemetery was overgrown with weeds. Even though the weeds were a bit out of control, you could tell people cared because there were flowers placed on the graves.

I'm glad we visited Zuni because we could see a community that still maintains its cultural roots and shares it with others. In a couple weeks, we're going back to Zuni to see Shaliko, their biggest religious festival of the year.