Traditional Food
on the Pueblo
Corn harvest and processing in the village at Pueblo de San Ildefonso around the 1930s. Credit: Pueblo de San Ildefonso.
Ancestors originally grew corn, beans, and squash.
Later, they added
melons, cilantro, and chili.
Memory Game
Game Instructions
Start by clicking one card to flip it over. Then, click another card to flip it over. The goal is to find a pair of cards that show the same plant.
If you don’t find a pair, the cards will flip back over and you get try to again.
Try to remember which card each plant is on so that it becomes easier to find pairs the longer you play.
Credits (beans, squash, melons, chili): nativeseeds.org / Credits (corn, indian tea, gourds): Abt Associates
Memory Game
Game Instructions
Start by clicking one card to flip it over. Then, click another card to flip it over. The goal is to find a pair of cards that show the same plant.
If you don’t find a pair, the cards will flip back over and you get try to again.
Try to remember which card each plant is on so that it becomes easier to find pairs the longer you play.
Credits (beans, squash, melons, chili): nativeseeds.org / Credits (corn, indian tea, gourds): Abt Associates
Chili (Tsini)
I found the chili was the hardest to do because you had to put chili seeds in a basket of water [before planting the seeds]. That keeps insects from eating our plants.”
Cloud Flower
I like to gather my chilies and give them to people.
Larry Aguilar
Corn (Kuu)
Four different types of corn are grown on the Pueblo. These are blue corn (Tsawain), white corn (Tsain), red corn (Pi'i), and yellow corn (tsejiin).
Press play to hear how to say these words in Tewa
Corn
Blue Corn
White Corn
Red Corn
Yellow Corn
We grow corn. Corn is used for food and traditional ways. There are different ways of grinding the corn that are traditional.
Martin Aguilar
I remember that we would gather corn and bring it to the plaza and as a kid we would go to the plaza and all husk the corn together.
Khoh’Ay Povi
Gourds
We grow gourds for dancing. You grow the gourds and you open them and gather the seeds out and then you put rocks in them to make rattles. It takes a while to clean them up and they're in different colors.
Larry Aguilar
…Gourds can also be used as shaping tools for pottery. Pottery has changed as a result of different crops being grown on the Pueblo.
Martin Aguilar
Indian Tea (Cota Tea)
Watch a video from the USDA Office of Tribal Relations to learn how to harvest, dry, and brew Indian tea, which is also referred to as cota, greenthread, Navajo tea, and other names.
We also sometimes gather food. There are little berries that grow nearby. In April we pick wild spinach. We also pick Indian tea, it is good for your stomach.
LEON ROYBAL
Melons
Both watermelon (Sandi’ya) and cantaloupe (bedundi) are grown on the Pueblo.
Press play to hear how to say these words in Tewa
Watermelon
Cantaloupe
Farmers were the ones that did the farming and they would share their crops with everybody. In July we would have celebrations with everybody. We would eat melons, cantaloupe, and corn.
As a kid we used to grow corn and melon. It was grown all over the area–between the river and the Learning Center was full of crops.
KHOH’AY POVI
Squash (Po)
Press play to hear this word in Tewa
Squash
My grandfather gave me tips for understanding when to plant. For example, we have two crops of squash: one you plant in May and the other in early June.
Press play to hear Leon tell this story.
LEON ROYBAL
Coloring Book
Game Instructions
Draw on the scene below using the colors to the left. The eraser icon is as at the bottom. To reset the image, refresh the page. Have fun adding color while learning about planting crops on the Pueblo!
Download Coloring Book Page
Coloring Book
Game Instructions
Draw on the scene below using the colors to the left. The eraser icon is as the bottom. To reset the image, refresh the page. Have fun adding color while learning about planting crops on the Pueblo!
Download Coloring Book Page
Coloring Book
Game Instructions
Draw on the scene below using the colors to the left. The eraser icon is as the bottom. To reset the image, refresh the page. Have fun adding color while learning about planting crops on the Pueblo!
Download Coloring Book Page
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This work was supported by Abt Associates.
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