SnakeMedicine_Book1

ON LOCATION
13 I Z U N I L A N D S , A R I Z O N A
Zuni Tribal land, or what Zunis call Schwinnaqin, is parceled across
several political jurisdictions in western New Mexico and Arizona.
Most Zuni Native Americans who live on tribal lands of the Pueblo of
Zuni are situated along the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado
River. From the Continental Divide, the river flows westerly and joins
the Little Colorado River in Arizona. The Pueblo is in western New
Mexico, and was the first pueblo that the Spanish saw as they campaigned
across the western United States in the 1600s.
Ironically, the tribe owns non-contiguous
lands in Apache County, Arizona,
which is separate from the Pueblo.
The Zuni culture was based on agrarian
needs. Maize dominated their spiritual
rituals as well as being the main stable
food crop. The Zuni language is considered
an isolate, with no base in other Native
American languages. The purity of
their language is reflected in 7000 years of
customs, rituals and crafts.
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