Visit Taos History

Introduction

UNM Taos upper division offers English 397, Regional Literature with a focus on Taos for interested students and community members this spring–right on Historic Ledoux St. in Taos!  As taught, the course can be understood as “The History of Southwestern Ideas.” Thanks to a variety of authors and books, we place the culture of Taos, the land and light, in the context of understanding the past 15,000 years. The course gives the student some real insight into the rich context of New Mexico’s northwest quadrant and Taos, particularly. Below I briefly summarize the importance of each book and era. The syllabus is posted at the end of the introduction.

Anasazi America

We begin with David Stuart’s Anasazi America (UNM Press), an archeological and anthropological analysis of the indigenous culture or nascent Native Americans, who increased in number from 3500 or so to the current population in New Mexico. Stuart’s book analyzes the Chaco phenomena, which ended about 1100 ad and includes examples of how the Natives adapted to climate change—temperatures rising to 135 degrees Fahrenheit during periods of drought followed by easier years of wet weather and the response to the Spanish and American conquests, etc. Ancient systems of irrigation, mixed practices of hunting and farming, differing responses to trading and defending early home sites against marauders all add up to a complex view of survival.

By the end of Anasazi America, one cannot help but admire the complex adaptation to climate and geography or the equally complex adaptation by the indigenous cultures to invaders, which affected ritual, architecture, agriculture, and public policy. One begins to understand both the luck and the genius of Taos Pueblo and Picuris Pueblo’s ancestors, whether inspired by spiritual claims or empirical necessities, who fortuitously settled in a nourishing environment with a consistent source of water. The long time span addressed—15,000 years–tends to make one more sanguine about our contemporary prospects of survival.

Blood and Thunder

Hampton Sides’s Blood and Thunder (Doubleday) focuses on Kit Carson as epic figure or representative of Manifest Destiny, the settlement and exploration of the west by the American colonizers. Carson, a gifted mountain man—tracker, trapper, fighter—lived in Taos but was at the center of major events: Fremont’s exploration of the West, the Civil War, the Southwest Indian wars, and the passing of the frontier from lawlessness into social–political stability. Though criticized most famously for his battles with the Navajos, Carson was very much a man of his times. He represented American, Hispanic, and Native American mores and relationships in the mid nineteenth Century.

Sides’ book is written like a novel in short fast paced chapters and stirs the reader with his descriptions of Carson, the massacre of Gov. Bent followed by the punishment of Taos Pueblo participants, keys to the New Mexico victory in the Glorieta civil war battle, the incredible tenacity and courage of soldiers and explorers, not to mention the inhabitants themselves. At the time Kit Carson was the most famous man in America, he was also illiterate in the ways of books—but not in the ways of the outdoors.

To Possess the Land

Frank Waters’ To Possess the Land (Ohio University press) about Arthur Manby combines mystery with chicanery and skullduggery. Manby represents the land swindlers and corrupt politicos who built and lost fortunes based on ill-gotten land. Whether you are discussing the Santa Fe Ring or the settlement of Colorado Springs or even Los Angeles, the land barons and swindlers operated in ways that were similar to Manby’s. Further, the unresolved mystery of Manby’s death, a notorious national event in 1929, is still an occasion for questions. Nobody knows for sure if his body is in the grave marked by a monument in Taos’s Kit Carson Park but outside the official cemetery.

Utopian Vistas

Lois Rudnick’s Utopian Vistas brings the Mabel Dodge Luhan era to life and underscores the advent of the do-gooder Anglo artists, litterateurs, and policy makers who “discovered” New Mexico and the Southwest. We learn how Luhan, like Mary Austin in Santa Fe, and John Collier in Taos and throughout the state, sought to save the Southwest for artists and writers, and the indigenous people from American occupation. The Mabel Dodge House, like Stuart’s Chaco Phenomena above, serves as a central point to observe the cultural phenomena, culminating in the Hopper era. Just as the Mabel Dodge house survives, so do the Mabel groupies and ideals of Anglo Utopianism—despite the reality of everyday life.

The Preservation of the Village

Suzanne Forrest’s The Preservation of the Village (UNM Press) narrates the story of the “Hispanic New Deal” in New Mexico and in Taos. Here in the early forties, there were as many as thirty or so local, state, and federal entities operating as “social engineers.” Road building, education facilities, home nutrition, and a variety of local agricultural and cultural practices were funded by the federal government in an effort to preserve the villages of northern New Mexico. And did, regardless of the consequences.

In Forrest’s book one learns how the Hispanic political patron system, fertilized by federal dollars, and how Santa Fe and Taos fiestas, influenced by Anglo artists, evolved. We learn how Anglos changed the names of local natives from “Mexican” to “Spanish” in order to escape negative connotations among the majority cultures. Many of these programs and their authors lived in Taos or wanted to.

The Taos Indians and the Battle for Blue Lake

R.C. Gordon-McCutcheon’s The Taos Indians and the Battle for Blue Lake (Red Crane Books/UNM Press) is a page turner. Taos Pueblo recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of the return of Blue Lake. McCutcheon’s book addresses seventy tenacious years of political action by the Tribe and includes a number of famous artists, nationally known politicians, and local heroes in this story of suspense and triumph.

Acequia: Water Sharing, Sanctity, and Place

Taos Native Sylvia Rodriguez’s Acequia; Water Sharing, Sanctity, and Place
(School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe) brings us up to date on acequia and water issues in the Taos Valley. The book was written during the negotiations on the Taos Pueblo Water Settlement/Abeyta lawsuit and brings much in the way of insight to students of the acequia culture. Now that the “Settlement” has been passed by the Senate and House, Rodriguez’s work, like McCutcheon’s above, have increased in their importance, given that survival of the local culture depends on traditional water sources.

Instructor’s Note: Last summer I taught this course to a number of Taosenos, who were knowledgeable about the area but said they learned much about details that had escaped them. By exploring the past, we learn much about the relations and forces extant in the present.

Syllabus

Instructor: William (Bill) Whaley Email: bwhaley@newmex.com
Office: TBA Office Phone: 770-4150
Office Hours: TBA Course Credits: 3
Class Meeting Days: Tue. Class Time: 6—8:45 PM
Class Location/Room: 246-B, Ledoux St. Term/Semester: Spring 2011

English 397. Regional Literature: The study of a limited body of writers whose work is identified with a particular geographical region. The southwest, particularly New Mexico, especially Taos will be the focus of this course, Spring, 2011.

Course Objectives. In English 397, the instructor and students will focus on the background of Taos, its image and history in nonfiction works. The course aims at coming to terms with an understanding of the place and multicultural people. Students will read, discuss, and analyze the place and people in terms of their own notions and observations, myths, mysteries, and realities.

Textbooks and Supplies.

David Stuart’s Anasazi America (UNM Press), Hampton Sides’s Blood and Thunder (Doubleday), Frank Waters’ To Possess the Land (Ohio University press), Suzanne Forrest’s The Preservation of the Village (UNM Press), Lois Rudnick’s “Utopian Vistas,” (UNM Press), R.C. Gordon-McCutcheon’s “The Taos Indians and the Battle for Blue Lake (Red Crane Books/UNM Press), Acequia; Water Sharing, Sanctity, and Place (School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe)

Course Requirements. Students will be required to read and respond to assigned literature. Readings, responses, quizzes and class participation will count for 40% of grade. A final paper, counting for 60% of the grade, will be required. The student will summarize some aspect of the readings and compare the literature to a current popular perspective of Taos or the Southwest.

Grading. Grades will be accorded based on UNM policies.

Attendance is required unless excused by instructor. Regular and punctual attendance is required. If the student misses three classes, the student may be dropped.

Accommodation Statement: Accessibility Services (Mesa Vista hall 2021, 277-3506) provides academic support to students who have disabilities. If you think you need alternative accessible formats for undertaking and completing coursework, you should contact this service right away to assure your needs are met in a timely manner. If you need local assistance in contacting Accessibility Services, see the Bachelor and Graduate Programs office.

Academic Integrity. The University of New Mexico believes that academic honesty is a foundational principle for personal and academic development. All University policies regarding academic honesty apply to this course. Academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to, cheating or copying, plagiarism (claiming credit for the words or works of another from another from any type of source such as print, Internet or electronic database, or failing to cite the source), fabricating information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students. The University’s full statement on academic honesty and the consequences for failure to comply is available in the college catalog and in the Pathfinder.

Cell Phones and Technology. Please turn off cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices prior to class. If monitoring an emergency, please notify class and instructor.

Schedule of Assignments: Note changes, due to bookstore snafu on orders.

Week One (Jan. 18): Intro to Course Anasazi America, David Stuart
Week Two (Jan. 25) Anasazi America (David Stuart)
Week Three (Feb. 1) Anasazi America (David Stuart)
Week Four (Feb. 8) Blood and Thunder (Hampton Sides)
Week Five (Feb. 15) Blood and Thunder (Hampton Sides)
Week Six (Feb. 22) To Possess the Land (Frank Waters)
Week Seven (March 1) To Possess the Land (Frank Waters)
Week Eight (March 8) Utopian Vistas (Lois Rudnick)
Week Nine (March 22  Utopian Vistas (Lois Rudnick)
Week Ten (March 29) The Preservation of the Village (Suzanne Forrest)
Week Eleven (April 5) The Preservation of the Village (Suzanne Forrest)
Week Twelve (April 12) The Battle for Blue Lake (R.C. Gordon-McCutcheon)
Week Thirteen (April 19) The Battle for Blue Lake (R.C. Gordon-McCutcheon)
Week Fourteen (April 26 Acequia (Sylvia Rodriguez)
Week Fifteen (May 3) Acequia (Sylvia Rodriguez)
Week Sixteen (May 10) Final Exams and Papers Due