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Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am pleased to support House Concurrent Resolution 242, authorizing use of the Capitol Rotunda on September 22 for a ceremony to receive the statue of the Indian leader Po'Pay, leader of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 against the Spanish, from the State of New Mexico.
This is New Mexico's second statute to be submitted for the National Statuary Hall Collection and the last of the 100 statues authorized to be submitted by the States since the collection was established by law in 1864. The collection is now finally complete, though in the future, some States may choose to replace their existing statues with different significant historical figures.
In 1998, the New Mexico legislature selected Po'Pay as a subject of the State's second statue for the National Statuary Hall Commission and created the New Mexico Statuary Hall Commission, whose members were appointed by the Governor. Sculptor Cliff Fragua, a Pueblo Indian himself, was awarded the commission to create the statue in December 1999.
The 7-foot-high statue is carved from pink Tennessee marble and will stand on a 3-foot-high pedestal comprised of a steel frame clad in black granite.
Po'Pay was born around 1630 in the San Juan Pueblo, in what is now called New Mexico. As an adult, he became a medicine man and was responsible for his people's spiritual life. He also shared their suffering at the hands of Spanish settlers and missionaries, who forced them to provide labor and food to support the Spanish community. The Spaniards also pressured them to give up their religion and way of life and to adopt Christianity, and those found practicing their religion were tortured and flogged, while others were executed.
In 1675, Po'Pay and 46 other Pueblo leaders were convicted of sorcery. He was among those flogged while others were executed.
In 1680, Po'Pay organized the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish. To coordinate the timing of the uprising, he and his followers sent runners to each pueblo with knotted deerskin strips. One knot was to be untied each day, and the revolt would begin on the day the last one was untied. After the Spaniards arrested two of the runners, the pueblos were quickly notified to accelerate the revolt. The attacks began on August 10, 2 days before the last knot would have been untied. The Spaniards took refuge at Santa Fe; the besieging Indians cut off their water supply, but soon permitted them to leave the area.
While the Spanish ultimately returned in 1692 and restored control over New Mexico as a Spanish territory, their interest in and ability to disrupt the native cultures were severely diminished. The Pueblo Revolt helped to ensure the survival of the Pueblo culture and shaped the history of the American Southwest.
Madam Speaker, as a member of the Joint Committee on the Library, which supervises the National Statuary Hall Collection, I am pleased to participate in this significant milestone for such a piece of art to be placed in the Nation's Capitol Building.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. |
