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Native American Tribes series.
Cochiti
A Keresan tribe and its pueblo on the west bank of the Rio Grande River, is about 35 miles southwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Before the earliest Spanish explorations, their ancestors divided into two groups, one branch going southward, where they built the pueblo of Katishtya (later called San Felipe), while the other took refuge on the Potrero Viejo, a mesa in north central New Mexico, where they established a temporary pueblo known as Hanut Cochiti, about 12 miles northwest of the present-day Cochiti Pubelo. Later, this group moved again to 6 or 7 miles southeast of the present Cochiti Pubelo, where they were found by Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate in 1598. The Cochiti took an active part in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, but remained in their pueblo for 15 months after the outbreak, when, learning of the return of Governor Otertnin to reconquer New Mexico, they retreated with the Keresan tribes of San Felipe and Santo Domingo (now called Kewa), re-enforced by some Tewa from San Marcos and by Tigua from Taos and Picuris, to the Potrero Viejo. In the fall of 1692, they were visited by Don Diego de Vargas, the re-conqueror of New Mexico, who induced them to promise to return to their permanent villages on the Rio Grande. But, only San Felipe proved sincere, while the Cochiti remained on the Potrero Viejore until early in the following year, when Vargas, with 70 soldiers, 20 colonists, and 100 warriors from the friendly villagers of San Felipe, Santa Ana, and Zia, assaulted the pueblo at midnight and forced the Cochiti to flee. However, the Cochiti returned, surprised the Spaniards, and succeeded in liberating most of the Indian captives. Vargas remained a short time, then burned the pueblo and evacuated the Potrero Viejore, taking with him to Santa Fe, a large quantity of corn, other booty, and nearly 200 captive women. Today, the Pueblo de Cochiti contains some 53,779 acres of reservation land and sustains about 1,200 pueblo members
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
cvyy obggyr