Once I realized how close Albuquerque is to many of
the Pueblos that receive feathers from the project, I con- tacted Dr. Reyman to see if it would be possible for me to visit any of them. After considering driving distances and a busy conference schedule, we decided to limit it to two Pueblos. Both Sandia and Cochiti offered to meet with me, and show me how they use the feathers in their ceremonies. On the day of the conference Ice Breaker, I gathered a small group of fellow IAATE members, and we left the hotel bright and early to begin the drive to Cochiti Pueblo.
Cochiti is located about fifty-five miles north of Albu-
querque.Aswe approached the Pueblo, itwas impossible to miss seeing the Cochiti Dam. This dam has become a central part of the way that members of the Pueblo farm the land. Some of the land that was traditionally farmed has been flooded due to seepage from the dam. The Pueblo has had to re-thinkmuch of its traditional farming practices in order to make use of the changing land.
Whenwe arrived at the Pueblo,wemetwith Lee Suina, the Environmental ProgramsManager for the Pueblo. Lee
had coordinated our arrival with the start of a class for math students from the Sante Fe Indian School.We were able to listen in while he described the way the Pueblo manages the land and the plans for the future. The class was then divided into smaller groups, and spread out among several different stations.We followed one group to the range management lesson. At this station, students were asked to evaluate the number and quality of differ- ent plants inside ameasured section of the land. Students then worked on several calculations to determine how many bison the pueblo could keep on each acre of range land. It was interesting to see howmany factors had to be consideredwhen determining howmany animals the land could support, and for how long. The students seemed to enjoy the practical application of their math skills, but I think itwas our groupwho learned themost thatmorning.
After his presentation to the class, Lee showed us a
number of slides that depicted a variety of ceremonies which utilize parrot feathers. He explained the historical significance of the parrot to the culture of the Pueblos. Prior tomeeting Lee, I hadn’t realized howcentral the par- rot is to the origin story of the pueblo people. Parrots
Tent Rock National Monument. Photo credit: Barbara Heidenreich 18 Good Bird Magazine
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