People have been living atop this 367-foot-high sandstone mesa since the early ninth century, A. D. Built here for its strategic position, Acoma (ACK-uh-muh) Pueblo may be the oldest continuously-inhabited village in the United States.
Today, fewer than 50 Acomans live in the village full time, while others keep houses here and visit them occasionally. Other tribe members live in the surrouding area and gather on the mesa for feast days.
If you want to visit Acoma Pueblo, you must go with a guide. Stop at the Sky City Visitor Center at the base of the mesa to arrange for your tour and get a camera permit. You will also find a snack bar here.
Only still photographs are allowed at Acoma Pueblo (no video recorders), and most artists will not let you photograph their pottery. Pets are also not allowed, and no kennel facilities are available.
On the tour, a knowledgeable guide will explain Acoma Pueblo history,talk about the difficulties of living on the mesa-top, and relate the brutality of Onate’s attack. Local artists offer pottery for sale along the way, and you can buy directly from the artist.
You’ll find little shade atop the mesa, and the New Mexico sun will burn you quickly. Wear lots of sunscreen and a hat, and take some bottled water along.
On these public feast days, Acoma Pueblo welcomes visitors. No admission is charged. Guided tours are suspended, but you are welcome to watch the dances and enjoy the activities. Photography is not allowed. Be respectful, stay clear of the dancers and remember that you are watching a religious ceremony, not a performance. Do not applaud.
Note the location of each festival. Not all are held on the mesa at Sky City.
February: First or second weekend, Governor’s Feast at Old Acoma
May: First Sunday, Santa Maria Feast Day in McCarty’s
August 10: San Lorenzo’s Feast Day in Acomita
September 2: San Esteban Feast Day and Harvest Dance, Sky City
December 24-28: Luminaria Tour, Christmas Festival, San Esteban Del Rey Mission, Sky City
Acoma Pueblo is famous for white, thin-walled pottery decorated in black and red-brown geometric designs. Many artists still offer traditional, hand-made pieces, made by stacking coils of wet clay and shaping by hand. Others also offer what they call “pottery,” which is more mass-produced (and less expensive).
If you’re looking for an authentic Acoma Pueblo pot, you may want to buy a seed pot (with a small opening in the top) or a water jar similar to the ones women once used to carry water from the cistern.
Quoted from gocalifornia.about.com
