jerry

so, this is not a very good picture because it was in a dark, very old pueblo mud hut...but the point here is the story, with which i will try to be brief.

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we went out to taos pueblo this morning. if you are not familiar, it is a UNESCO world heritage site, the oldest continuously inhabited residence in the united states, and a traditional site for the taos pueblo indians. many of them still live in the pueblo part of the year, some of them for all of it.

anyway, this is jerry. he was a police officer with the bureau if indian affairs for many years and is now retired. he married an anglo woman and they now live outside the pueblo wall in the same community, and occupy their pueblo home as a shop to sell food to visitors to raise money for a local charity.

we stopped in for some indian fry bread and had a very long (45 minutes or so) conversation with jerry about his life, the history of the pueblo, and many other things. he was a fascinating man, fluent in tiwa, and full of stories. he was happy to let me take his photograph and to answer any questions we had.

jerry's brother was governor of the pueblo in 2006 and 2010 (a post appointed yearly by the elders in the kiva), and his family has been in the pueblo since its inception. he is 100% tiwa and a full member of the pueblo.

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other stuff happened today (including some delicious food and the rio grande gorge) but jerry was my favorite part.