Picuris Pueblo
Peñasco, NM,
USA
The Picuris Pueblo, whose name means "people of the hidden valley," is nestled in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. After struggling for eight years to stop the operations of a mica mine—the largest mica mine west of the Mississippi River—located on their aboriginal lands, they succeeded in purchasing the mine. They are now in the process of restoring the area so they can resume religious and cultural practices that the land had supported for centuries. Of particular importance is the shimmery micaceous clay that they have used to make their distinctive Picuris pottery.