Zia. Zia.
Zia. It’s everywhere in New Mexico. On the flag. On license plates. Twice on this building in Clovis. Even, according to this article, on public toilets.
But it’s also a sacred symbol of the Zia Pueblo, a tribe of about 850 members, who feel that perhaps their tribal symbol is being used in ways that are not in accordance with their beliefs. The current session of the state legislature has asked the State Department of Cultural Affairs to prepare a report on the matter. A previous fiscal impact study on the issue said the Cultural Affairs Department should consult with Zia Pueblo, but cautions that “there is potential for conflicts of interest between the state and the pueblo, particularly if the report is intended to include recommendations.”
Clovis, New Mexico
photographed 5.25.2013
Posted on February 16, 2014, in Photography and tagged 365 photo project, architecture, black and white photography, clovis, clovis new mexico, downtown, melinda green harvey, monochrome, new mexico, one day one image, photo a day, photography, zia, zia pueblo. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
One Day | One Image 
Powerful capture!
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Thank you, Kurt.
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I’m not really sure of the significance of the symbol to the tribe but I know that at the Museum where I work there were some masks on display that area tribes reported to be sacred and asked that they be removed and never put on display again. Of course the Museum complied but the Museum is isolated from everything else. It was a simple matter. I don’t know if a tribe of 850 members has the wherewithal to get much accomplished, but it’s an interesting story.
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The zia symbol is everywhere in New Mexico, and I can understand why the Zia Pueblo would have concerns about it! The symbol’s been on the state flag since the 1920s, when it was a lot easier to just take something from a tribe without having any discussion or anything. When I was writing the post, I saw references back as far as 1999 about the Pueblo fighting the state over the symbol. There’s probably not going to be a resolution that will make anyone happy.
When we lived in New Mexico in the late 1970s, the Zuni tribe was fighting the state board of education; the state did not want to permit the tribe to teach the Zuni language at the schools on the reservation. The tribe felt passing on the language was an important part of their history and heritage. That battle went on for a long time, but eventually the Zunis prevailed.
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