Po Pay

After five years of planning, on August 10, 1680, Po'Pay led the Pueblos of New Mexico into battle. This battle is known today as the Pueblo Revolt. Po'Pay was a Native American living in Taos Pueblo. He, along with other leaders after years of economic and religious oppression, devised a plan to revolt against the Spaniards. Po'Pay is most famously known for his idea of the knotted cord. Seeing as many of the surrounding tribes lacked a universal language, Po'Pay sent "runners to each village with a knotted cord that would signal the start of the attack" (indianz.com). The result of the attack was one of the "most effective Indian resistance movements in American history" (pg.75 Calloway).

On September 23, after decades of requests, a statue of Po'Pay was erected in the National Statuary Hall, in New Mexico. The idea for the statue was first introduced in 1976, and it is now, almost thirty years later that it has finally been erected. According to the article entitled "Pueblo leader completes National Statuary Hall", "The statue is the 100th, and final to be placed in the hall," (indianz.com). Previously New Mexico had only one of two possible statues in the hall. The first spot belonged to Dennis Chavez, the first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Senate. The state chose Po'Pay based on his achievements in persevering the Pueblo way of life as well as the important role he played in the Pueblo Revolt. During the ceremony members of "all 19 Pueblos in New Mexico, along with the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and the Tigua tribe of Texas, who also participated in the revolt, attended"(indianz.com).

The erection of the statue of Po'Pay had a profound meaning not only to the Pueblos, but of all the citizens of New Mexico. In the words of Benny Shendo, new Mexico's secretary for Indian Affairs, the statue represents the "revolt that helped shape the evolution and character of an entire region of our country, and it lead to the survival of a culture rich in history and heritage that would one day co-exist with modern American life,"(indianz.com). Representative Nancy Pelosi, the house democratic leader, also summed up the significance of Po'Pay saying that "By holding onto the memory of Po'Pay, America's first revolutionary, and the memories of other great men and when enshrined here, we remind ourselves that our nation has been profoundly