People define communities in many ways. It is often a historical account that marks important events along a timeline. Sometimes it is an individual’s remembrance of a special event or a person. And for some, it is a something that blends and combines all the currents of memory as in some kind of ineffable reality.
So it is with the people of P’suwaegeh O’wingeh.
While others have told the P’osuwaegeh O’wingeh story, it is only when Pojoaque tells its own story that we become aware of a more powerful message woven into the fabric of continuous, generations long narrative.
It describes times of scarcity and need, but it always recounts the abiding strength of family, especially grandfathers and grandmothers. Their story shares memories deeply etched in their psyche; reflecting on times past and people who helped them to become the people they are today.
In this exhibit, “Scarcity and Abundance,” with sound and sight, art and artifact, we share feelings that a people have about their beginning, the journey they made to the present, their vision and hopes for the future, their children, their culture, a way of life.
It is a collective story of culture as an enduring force in creating a special sense of place, time, and abundance. For Pojoaque the revitalization of its community came from a deep concern over the fading of traditional ways and determination that without its restoration, a legacy expressed in individual families would literally have no home, no special place.
We learn through the Pojoaque story of the remarkable journey that many took to distance places only to find P’osuwaegeh O’wingeh was really the final destination. That is the place where people, the people of Pojoaque, have lived for thousands of years.
