DG - The Last Conquistador - PBS

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Discussion Guide | The Last ConquistadorBackground InformationSeason21Acoma Indian Pueblo TodayAcoma Pueblo.Photo courtesy of Valadez MediaBuilt atop a 370-foot sandstone bluff, Acoma Pueblo is thehistoric core of the Acoma community. It lies 60 miles west ofAlbuquerque, New Mexico, and is one of the oldest continuouslyinhabited municipalities in the United States. The pueblostructures of Acoma Pueblo date to at least 1150 C.E., but mayin fact be much older. First contact with the Spaniards occurredin 1540 and was initially peaceful.The pueblo of Acoma has been recognized as a NationalHistoric Landmark since 1960. Most of the Acoma Pueblocommunity resides in other small towns nearby, includingAcomita, McCartys and Anzac, with only 50 people living in thecore of the pueblo year-round. Most members of thecommunity gather atop the mesa on special feast days.According to figures from the 2000 census, about 2,800 peoplereside in the Acoma Pueblo community and another 4,700Acoma live off the reservation.Sources:“Trekking into the Cuartocentenrio Controversy,” Santa Fe New Mexican,May 10, 1998; “Acoma History,” www.geocities.com/laceone2k2/index.html;“Acoma Pueblo,” New Mexico Magazine,www.nmmagazine.com/native_american/acoma.php; American Association ofMuseums, http://www.aam-us.org/pubs/mn/acomapueblo.cfm.© American Documentary, Inc.8
Discussion Guide | The Last ConquistadorBackground InformationSeason21El Paso, TexasAmerican Indians had lived along the Rio Grande for centurieswhen Juan de Oñate arrived with the first European settlers in1598. Settlements shifted location over time as the course of theriver changed, but eventually settlements stabilized around thecurrent location of El Paso and its twin city on the Mexican sideof the border, Juárez. The first use of the name El Paso delNorte came in 1610, in an account of Oñate’s expedition. Thetravels of Oñate followed some native paths that led to theextension of the Camino Real by 600 miles, the first major roadthat connected Mexico City and New Mexico. This 1,800-mileroute was for several centuries the longest-running road inNorth America.Protesters at a meeting of the El Paso City Council.Photo courtesy of Valadez MediaToday, the city of El Paso has a population just under 600,000. Alarge majority of the population identifies as Mexican American— 63.8 percent in the 2000 census. Just over 3 percent claimblack or African American heritage. American Indiansconstitute 0.8 percent. Twenty-six percent of the population isforeign-born, and 71 percent speak a language other thanEnglish at home.In the past, El Paso thrived as a trading center, an entry pointfor goods brought from Mexico into the western United Statesand vice versa. Manufacturing, once a staple of the El Paso© American Documentary, Inc.9
Page 1: P.O.V.Discussion GuideSeason21The L
Page 4 and 5: Discussion Guide | The Last Conquis
Page 21: Discussion Guide | The Last Conquis

DG - The Last Conquistador - PBS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?