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Marina Lopez Tiznado. Photograph by James Gunnerson at Dulce, New Mexico 1964. (Photo courtesy of James and Dolores Gunnerson, Lincoln, Nebraska)
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UM Archaeological Analyses Support Picuris Pueblo Resource Claim
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Picuris Pueblo, nestled in a hidden valley of the Sangre de Cristos Mountains of New Mexico, is known around the world for its beautiful glittering pottery, made from the golden micaceous clay that is found in deposits near this small village. For centuries, the Pueblo’s inhabitants have depended upon these clays to make
cooking pots and serving utensils for trade and for use in their kitchens. Today, these vessels are highly valued in Native American and Spanish art markets.
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Picuris micaceous pitcher by Anthony Durand ca. 1980.
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Most Picuris potters will tell you that their identity is firmly rooted in clay, and that clay sources are sacred to the communities that use them. One such source, called Molo nan na, is particularly important to the Pueblo. This clay developed over millions of years as it eroded from a pure vein of mica located far beneath the ground surface. At the turn of the last century American miners discovered that New Mexico was rich in mica deposits, and they quickly began mining the valued mineral for construction and cosmetic applications. Mining began in earnest during the 1920s and extended to Picuris by the 1950s. Mechanized extraction in the 1980s completely covered the Molo nan na clay source and resulted in severe and widespread scarring of the surrounding landscape.
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Picuris district clays are located in an area famous for its mica deposits and rich micaceous pottery traditions
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Geochemical signatures help to establish the clay sources for archaeolgical vessels from Picuris
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In 1998, the Pueblo began a legal battle to close the mine and take back the land. Its strategy was to demonstrate that the mine and the clay that it contained fell within its ancient tribal territories. The Pueblo also argued that it maintained exclusive control of this land and use rights over the clay for hundreds of years prior to American contact in 1846. Legal counsel for the tribe, Richard Hughes, with co-counsel Curtis Berkey, Rod Ventura, and Simeon Herskovitz, turned to local experts in New Mexico history, ethnography, and archaeology to provide supporting evidence and testimony for the case.
View of Mining Impacts: Damage to Molo nan na is due to mechanized strip mining for mica
One of these experts, Sunday Eiselt, was a graduate student archaeologist at the University of Michigan, Museum of Anthropology. Under the guidance of Prof. Richard I. Ford, she already had worked with Native potters and communities to develop a micaceous clay source database. This database matched archaeological pottery to known clay sources by comparing their chemical signatures. Chemical analysis was conducted at the University of Michigan Ford Nuclear Research Reactor through a grant provided by the Phoenix Memorial Fund. Analytical methods were precise in predicting source matches with a high degree of certainty. The addition of Molo nan na clays and Picuris ceramics to Eiselt’s database indicated that Picuris claims were well-founded. Archaeological pottery sherds, dating from the 1650s to the 1980s revealed continuous use of Molo nan na clays. Additional interviews with potters further attested to the negative impact of mining to local economic and artistic traditions, including Picuris elders who protect the knowledge and practice of pottery making for future generations.
In 2004, in part as a result of its lawsuit, Picuris Pueblo successfully sued for the return of Molo nan na. Currently, it is pursuing claims for damages for the removal of the mica ore and the destruction of the clay pits. Eiselt’s work with the Pueblo is a prime example of the positive collaborations between anthropologists in the Museum and Native communities. Richard Ford has recently commented that this type of work represents the new face of American Anthropology and a promising area of reciprocal research at the Museum – one in which graduate students are urged to think beyond their dissertations to the communities with whom they work.
