Episode 5: Colonization

Within two decades, the Spanish settlers returned to the Rio Grande Valley, laying claim to the fertile valleys to build haciendas, churches and towns, to be owned by the Spanish crown. This virtual field trip to Los Luceros Historic Site will tell the story.

Part 5 of our Brief History of the American Southwest for Kids tells the story of the Spanish colonial era of the American Southwest after the Pueblo Revolt. Representatives of the Spanish crown returned to terra nueva to claim territory in the southwest lost in the Pueblo Revolt. Estancias or ranches such as Los Luceros Historic Site is an example of how ranches operated, what they contained, and the impact upon the numerous, diverse indigenous communities in what was to become the State of New Mexico, then the eventual Mexican Independence and territorial acquisition by the United States and subsequent statehood.

Our guests will talk about the geo-political and actual battles between Spain, Mexico and the United States to control the Southwest. We will learn about the encomienda, the Land Grants, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and the impact on the population of Pueblo people.

Our experts include Los Luceros Historic Site interpretive ranger Carlyn Stewart and Rebecca Ward, along with Piro-Manso-Tiwa Tribal Preservation Officer Diego Medina, archaeologist Mary Weahkee from the New Mexico Center for Archaeology, and Dava Fratello, Principal of the Comanche Academy in Oklahoma.