{"id":47913,"date":"2025-09-19T15:42:49","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T22:42:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/?p=47913"},"modified":"2025-09-19T15:43:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T22:43:13","slug":"what-it-means-for-indigenous-people-to-tell-their-own-stories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newmexicopbs.org\/productions\/newmexicoinfocus\/what-it-means-for-indigenous-people-to-tell-their-own-stories\/","title":{"rendered":"What it Means for Indigenous People \ufeffto Tell Their Own Stories"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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In the opening scene of\u00a0Pueblo Revolt<\/em>, a play set in what\u2019s now New Mexico in the late 1600s, Isleta Pueblo boy Feem Whim rehearses introducing himself to his crush Guillermo, depicted in a drawing he\u2019s taped up in his home. He tests out a few greetings before landing on a casual, \u201cHi.\u201d
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\u201cThat was good, that was good,\u201d he reassures himself.\u00a0\u00a0

He\u2019s leaning in for an imaginary kiss when his older brother, Ba\u2019Homa, bursts through their front door, covered in blood. He didn\u2019t make the sign of the cross when he walked past the church in the center of their village, he tells Feem, and a couple Spanish men assaulted him.\u00a0

The 90-minute theater production at the Santa Fe Playhouse last month portrayed the two brothers\u2019 experiences \u2014\u00a0before, during and after \u2014 of the Pueblo Revolt, often\u00a0described as one of the most successful Indigenous uprisings against colonization in North America.\u00a0

For much of the 17th century, Pueblo peoples lived under Spanish colonial rule. They were forced to provide labor and tribute in the form of crops and other resources, and their religion was violently suppressed. In 1675, following several years of drought and famine, the Spanish governor ordered the arrests of 47 medicine men for witchcraft. Three of them were executed.\u00a0

Po\u2019pay of Ohkay Owingeh, one of those arrested and later released, went on to help lead a revolt against the Spanish in the summer of 1680. Runners traveled hundreds of miles to bring knotted cords to the various Pueblos. (Today, 19 are federally recognized.) Each day, a knot was meant to be untied until the last one was undone, signaling it was time.\u00a0\u00a0

On Aug. 10, the revolt began, and within a couple weeks, the Spanish had been driven out to present-day El Paso. It would be over a decade before they returned.\u00a0

Growing up in Santa Fe, playwright Dillon Chitto (Mississippi Choctaw\/Laguna Pueblo\/Isleta Pueblo) didn\u2019t learn much about the revolt in school. But he heard plenty about it from relatives. Combining that knowledge with his love for superheroes and action movies, he drew comic books about that period as a young child.\u00a0

\u201cI\u2019ve always really connected with that piece of history, because, you know, those are my ancestors,\u201d Chitto said. \u201cAnd I just think it\u2019s something that we don\u2019t hear about a lot.\u201d\u00a0support among voters.\u00a0

So, when he took part in a program for playwrights in California a few years ago, he knew that\u2019s what he wanted to write about.\u00a0\u00a0

The play isn\u2019t meant to be historical nonfiction, although Chitto read a handful of books while developing the script.\u00a0

More than anything, it\u2019s a comedy. All too often, Chitto said, stories about Native people and their communities focus entirely on trauma. He wanted to move away from that and, instead, make people laugh \u2014\u00a0which he accomplished, at least during the performance the\u00a0Indigenously Positive<\/em>\u00a0crew attended \u2014\u00a0and more fully explore his characters\u2019 humanity.\u00a0

Still, the play raises\u00a0difficult questions, he said, like what to do with feelings of not being able to take meaningful action to confront injustices happening around you.\u00a0\u00a0

\u201cI think that\u2019s something that we all need to wrestle with right now, you know, and probably for the foreseeable future. But also, I hope they take away the image of Native joy, Native hope,\u201d he said of the play. Native people have survived genocide, Chitto said, \u201cand still, we\u2019re always here. We\u2019re on our land. We\u2019re resilient, we\u2019re persistent, and we\u2019re not going anywhere.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0 – Bella Davis, New Mexico In Depth Indigenous Affairs Reporter\u00a0

This story is part of a collaborative series between New Mexico PBS and<\/em>\u00a0New Mexico in Depth<\/a>, called Indigenously Positive. Bella Davis was the host\/producer for this episode; NMPBS Multimedia Producer Benjamin Yazza was the director\/producer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

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