Kewa Pueblo

Kewa Pueblo (formerly Pueblo de Santo Domingo) is a community located south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, along the Rio Grande.

In the 1200s, the Keresan people left their canyon homes and migrated to the current location of the pueblo. By 1598, the Spanish arrived, and the Pueblo people allied with them to fight the Apache and Comanche. Nearly a decade later, the Spanish established a vast missionary with the pueblo as its headquarters. In 1680, the Pueblo people revolted against the occupying Spanish colonizers using Kewa Pueblo as their headquarters. The Spanish returned 12 years later, conquered the region again, and restored the missions.

In the late 1700s through the mid-1800s, Kewa Pueblo saw significant flooding that caused extensive damage despite the installation of levees. These floods eventually prompted the construction of a new pueblo in 1886. In the early 1900s, a railroad station was constructed at the pueblo as well as a trading post that operated until the 1990s.

Every August 4th, Kewa Pueblo Tribe holds a world-famous Green Corn Dance celebration. The corn dance is done to honor the patron saint of the Tribe, Saint Dominic. During the festival, many members of the tribe wear ceremonial clothing and dance in the main plaza. Thousands of spectators enjoy the celebration as well as the crafts offered for sale.

The Kewa people's culture remains strong today. This is due in part, to their occupation of the same area in New Mexico for thousands of years, allowing many of the Kewa youth to continue their traditions and maintain their native Keres language.

The above plat from 1856 was surveyed under contract by Reuben E. Clements, Deputy Surveyor, and covers nearly 75,000 acres. The plat is centered around Santo Domingo as the intersection of the Rio Grande and Galisteo creek. The plat notes the location of Blanca Pelada Cave as well as the location of San Felipe, another pueblo.

In 1973, the older portion of the Pueblo was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2009, the official name was changed from Santo Domingo Pueblo to Kewa Pueblo.