Di Wae Powa
A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SMITHSONIAN
For more than 100 years Tewa Pueblo ancestral pottery has been collected, shipped away and housed on the east coast, largely in private collections and the renowned Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).
Several years ago, the Poeh Cultural Center began talks with NMAI, in a concerted effort to bring these pots “home.” Along the way, many Tewa Pueblo artists, elders and community members worked tirelessly to help bring this homecoming to fruition.
It’s time to celebrate this achievement. In fall 2019, after a century-long and epic journey, this sacred ancestral pottery will be reunited with the descendants of the creators, to be housed and displayed at the acclaimed Poeh Cultural Center.
“It’s bringing the ancestors home. It’s very spiritual for me because they’re my great grandparents, my great aunties, my great uncles that are being brought back – very important because it’s our culture, it’s our spirit, it’s our wholeness and it’s our heart” – Evonne Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
HOMECOMING FOR 100
This groundbreaking new exhibit and educational resource center will be dedicated to, and utilized by the Tewa Pueblo peoples that live in the neighboring Pueblos of, Pojoaque, Nambe, San Ildefonso, Santa Clara, Ohkay Owingeh and Tesuque. It will be shared year-round with the many students, artists, scholars, educators and tourists that wish to bear witness to its magnificence. And, while the Poeh museum will still function as an exhibition space, it will expand its use into that of a vibrant, interactive and immersive Tewa “learning center,” dedicated to Tewa Pueblo culture, and poised to provide learning experiences for the evolving world.
“They’re journey in this world is coming back to where they come. We as pueblo people believe in the circular not the linear, so its coming back to where it left from. It’s not going in one direction. It’s actually coming back to where it was first walked away from or taken from and it’s now returning back to the Tewa world.” – Gilbert Sanchez (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
In celebration of its’ return home, we humbly invite you, as our treasured supporters, to help support this epic return of this piece of our history, and our Tewa Pueblo culture, as we transform our small but vital museum facility into a culturally innovative resource center.
Impact
The Poeh serves the Tewa Pueblo communities and general public through year round programming.
CULTURAL REVITALIZATION
TRIBAL HISTORY RESEARCH
MUSEUM TRAINING
YOUTH EDUCATION
Community Committee
Tewa Pottery Advisory Committee
Clarence Cruz (Ohkay Owingeh)
Elvie Aquino (Ohkay Owingeh)
Michael Bancroft (Ohkay Owingeh)
Erik Fender (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
Evone Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
Brandi Martinez (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
John Garcia (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Cris Velarde (Santa Clara Pueblo
Tessie Naranjo (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Eliza Naranjo Morse (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Shawn Tafoya (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Bea Duran (Tesuque Pueblo)
Lonnie Vigil (Nambe Pueblo)
Martha Romero (Nambe Pueblo)
Josephina Villarreal (Pojoaque Pueblo)
Sam Catanach (Pojoaque Pueblo)
Tewa Community Participants
Gilbert Sanchez (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
Catherine Trujillo (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
Kathy Sanchez (San Ildefonso Pueblo)
Augustine Calvert (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Jody Folwell (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Gloria Garcia (Pueblo of Pojoaque)
Thelma Talachy (Pueblo of Pojoaque)
Joe Talachy Sr. (Pueblo of Pojoaque)
Melissa Talachy (Pueblo of Pojoaque)
Francine Maestas (Pueblo of Pojoaque)
David Trujillo (Pueblo of Pojoaque)
Shawn Tafoya’s Poeh Pottery Class
Michael Brancroft’s Poeh Pottery Class
Pueblo of Pojoaque Boys & Girls Club
Pueblo of Pojoaque Early Childhood Center
Poeh Cultural Center
Karl Duncan (Executive Director)
Reuben Martinez (Operations Director)
Stephen Fadden (Program Director)
Lynda Romero (Collections Manager)
Jake Viarrial (Tourism Coordinator)
Macario Gutierrez (Archives Manager)
Pueblo of Pojoaque
Joseph Talachy (Governor)
George Rivera (Former Governor)
Adam Duran (Tribal War Chief)
Bruce Bernstein (Tribal Historic Preservation Officer)
National Museum of the American Indian
Cynthia Chavez Lamar (Assistant Director of Collections)
Tessa Shultz (Assistant Project Manager)
Beth Holford (Conservator)
Shelly Uhlir (Mountmaker)