The wind-stripped landscape that greets you when entering the Pueblo of Acoma lays bare the rugged life of these American Indians since this federally recognized Native Indian Tribe began building adobe dwellings here in 1150 A.D. You drive for miles through the vast reservation, past immense sandstone monoliths before the “rock,” as some tribal members call the 367-foot-high sandstone mesa holding Sky City, appears in the distance. Although Acoma Pueblo is home to 4,800 tribal members, only 15 families live year-round in Sky City, which has no electricity, sewer or water. (Many tribal members live in Acomita, a community about 10 miles away but still on tribal land that encompasses 431,1664 acres.
Sky City, which tribal members say is the oldest continuously inhabited village in the US, is the spiritual and cultural hub of the Acoma Pueblo. All tours of Sky City are led by native guides, who tell visitors about the pueblo’s history, as you walk the stony streets looking at centuries-old homes intermixed with the occasional obviously new adobe house. In the plaza, women are seated at tables selling pottery. Alongside some houses, there are kivas and sheep pens. The tour includes a stop in the massive San Esteban del Rey Mission, which was started in 1629. Sky City is the only Native American site that is a Registered National Historical Landmark.
You will drive to the mesa top in the tour bus, but take the 10-minute walk back down to the Sky City Cultural Center, where you left your car. (Centuries ago the village was much closer to the plains, but erosion nibbled sand from the rock, creating the 367-foot elevation.) As you carefully walk down the uneven dirt path lined with boulders, following a local bounding downward at twice your pace, you sense how completely tribal members have adapted to their environment.
Take a tour of the Acoma Pueblo
Visitors can only visit Sky City with a native guide. Tours, which start at the Sky City Cultural Center at the base of the mesa, are scheduled several times most days throughout the year. Still photography is permitted (with some restrictions); a $10 camera fee must be paid in advance.The Haak'u Museum and the Sky City Cultural Center
The Haak’u Museum is a stunning building that blends contemporary lines with tribal traditions. The museum has exhibits showing the clothing and culture of the pueblo. A long-term special exhibition features master Acoma potters - Lucy M. Lewis, Marie Z. Chino, Jessie Garcia, and Juana Leno - and their families, who jointly inspired the traditional Acoma pottery revival. Today, the primarily black-and-white Acoma pottery by these women and other contemporary artists is sought after by museums and private collectors.Sky City Casino Hotel
The AAA Three-Diamond Sky City Casino Hotel, located just off I-40 at Exit 102, has comfortable rooms, a restaurant featuring many native dishes, and a casino with live blackjack, craps and roulette tables. The casino hotel is a major source of income providing schools, healthcare facilities and much more to tribal members.
