{"id":26340,"date":"2026-01-09T12:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=26340"},"modified":"2026-01-09T12:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T20:29:10","slug":"pueblo-leader-po-pay-fought-for-independence-from-colonial-rule-long-before-american-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/pueblo-leader-po-pay-fought-for-independence-from-colonial-rule-long-before-american-revolution\/","title":{"rendered":"17th-century Pueblo leader who fought for independence from colonial rule \u2013 long before the American\u00a0Revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/po-pay-mancall-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/po-pay-mancall-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/po-pay-mancall-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2026\/01\/po-pay-mancall-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Statue of Po'pay in a marble-walled alcove\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Po&#8217;pay\u2019s statue in the U.S. Capitol, representing the state of New Mexico, was dedicated in 2005. (Image source: Architect of the Capitol.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=arts-and-culture\">Arts and Culture<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>17th-century Pueblo leader who fought for independence from colonial rule \u2013 long before the American\u00a0Revolution<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Po&#8217;pay, a Tewa religious leader, led the Pueblo Revolt, the most successful Indigenous rebellion in what\u2019s now the United States.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Peter Mancall<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">January 9, 2026<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>The U.S. Capitol\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitthecapitol.gov\/apps\/nshc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Statuary Hall Collection<\/a> contains 100 sculptures: two luminaries from each state. They include many familiar figures, such as Helen Keller, Johnny Cash, Ronald Reagan and Amelia Earhart. There are a few from the Colonial era, including founders such as Samuel Adams and George Washington.<\/p>\n<p>Some will also be represented in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2021\/01\/22\/2021-01643\/building-the-national-garden-of-american-heroes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Garden of American Heroes<\/a> that the Trump administration plans to build. The monument will eventually <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/2025\/07\/03\/national-garden-american-heroes-timeline-white-house-neh\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have 250 statues<\/a>, and the administration has proposed a list of names. Among the figures in the Capitol who did not make the cut is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitthecapitol.gov\/apps\/nshc\/statue\/popay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Po\u2019pay, a 17th-century Native American leader<\/a> from what is now New Mexico. The inscription on his statue in the Capitol identifies him as \u201cHoly Man \u2013 Farmer \u2013 Defender.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.petercmancall.com\/\">a historian of early America<\/a>, I see Po\u2019pay\u2019s absence in the to-be-built shrine as unfortunate \u2013 but not surprising. After all, he led <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gilderlehrman.org\/history-resources\/essays\/pueblo-revolt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the Pueblo Revolt<\/a> of 1680: the most successful Indigenous rebellion against colonization in the history of what became the United States. He and his followers sought political independence and religious freedom, issues central to Americans\u2019 sense of themselves.<\/p>\n<h2>Spanish conquest of New Mexico<\/h2>\n<p>Religious movements and figures played a central role in early American history. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/11\/25\/health\/pilgrim-survival-disease-conversation-wellness\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as I have frequently written<\/a>, Thanksgiving is linked to Protestant religious dissenters <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-the-plymouth-pilgrims-took-over-thanksgiving-and-who-history-left-behind-267944\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">we call Pilgrims<\/a> and Puritans. American myth tells us that those hearty souls braved an ocean crossing and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.laphamsquarterly.org\/book-nature\/hideous-and-desolate-wilderness\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a contest with the \u201cwilderness<\/a>,\u201d in the words of the Plymouth colony\u2019s governor, William Bradford. They did so, according to our legends, to pursue their faith \u2014 though the historical record reveals that <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/CBO9780511811920\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">economics also drove their decision<\/a> to migrate.<\/p>\n<p>Po\u2019pay, a Tewa religious leader born around 1630, did not have to cross an ocean to prove his commitment to his faith. Instead, in the face of oppression, he wanted to restore the traditions and practices of his homeland: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.achp.gov\/success-stories\/ohkay-owingeh\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ohkay Owingeh<\/a>, which Spanish colonizers renamed San Juan Pueblo, in what is now New Mexico. The Tewa are one of many Pueblo peoples living in the Southwest.<\/p>\n<p>Pueblo lands had witnessed spasms of brutal violence since Spanish colonizers arrived at the end of the 16th century. In 1598, a group of Spanish soldiers arrived in Acoma, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/articles\/000\/acoma-pueblo-ancient-city-in-the-sky.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a famous Pueblo city<\/a> known to the Spanish through earlier reports from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/coro\/learn\/historyculture\/stories.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the explorer Francisco Coronado<\/a>. The oldest settlement within the territorial boundaries of the United States, Acoma has been occupied almost continuously since the 12th century.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=399&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=501&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=501&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709793\/original\/file-20251218-56-owwgf8.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=501&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"A photo shows a rocky mesa with a cluster of stone or adobe homes on top.\" \/><\/a><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Acoma Pueblo has been inhabited for almost a millennium.<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Acoma_Pueblo_Sky_City_2.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Scott Catron\/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, <a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the end of the 16th century, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/nativevoices\/timeline\/195.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">conflict erupted<\/a> when residents of Acoma refused the soldiers\u2019 demands for food. Locals killed the commander and around a dozen others. In response, the provincial governor, Juan de O\u00f1ate, consulted with Franciscan priests and then ordered a counterattack.<\/p>\n<p>The Spanish <a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300140682\/the-spanish-frontier-in-north-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">killed at least 800 residents<\/a> \u2014 300 women and children and 500 men \u2014 and perhaps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/articles\/000\/acoma-pueblo-ancient-city-in-the-sky.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">as many as 1,500<\/a>. In a subsequent trial, the colonizers ruled that the people of Acoma had violated their \u201cobligations\u201d to the Spanish king. Judges sold almost 600 survivors into slavery and <a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300140682\/the-spanish-frontier-in-north-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">amputated one foot<\/a> from each man 25 or over.<\/p>\n<p>In the years that followed, Spanish soldiers <a href=\"https:\/\/americanindian.si.edu\/sites\/1\/files\/pdf\/seminars-symposia\/the-other-slavery-perspective.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">captured Indigenous people across the Southwest<\/a> and sold them into slavery, too. For Pueblos and other Indigenous peoples, the intertwined military, political and spiritual invasions threatened seemingly every aspect of their lives.<\/p>\n<h2>For crown and cross<\/h2>\n<p>The violence at Acoma did not dissuade Spaniards eager to migrate. Around 1608, horse- and oxen-drawn carriages traveled into the territory to build a new capital, which the Spanish called Santa Fe. In addition to ferrying soldiers and farming families, those wagons also carried Franciscan friars, crucifixes, Bibles and other items the brothers needed to promote Catholicism among those they deemed to be heathens.<\/p>\n<p>Over the ensuing decades, periodic conflicts <a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300140682\/the-spanish-frontier-in-north-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pitted Indigenous peoples of various pueblos against the colonizers<\/a>. Nevertheless, Spaniards erected churches in Native communities, and Franciscans often claimed that many Indigenous people welcomed their presence.<\/p>\n<p>Like other Christian missionaries in the Western Hemisphere, Franciscans of the day argued that Indigenous peoples needed to abandon their traditional religions as part of the process of conversion. But many in New Mexico retained older ways. They continued to pray in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wgbh\/pages\/frontline\/godinamerica\/people\/pueblos.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">chambers known as \u201ckivas<\/a>\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/kachina\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">communicate with their deities<\/a>: Pos\u2019e yemu, for example, whom Tewas believed <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalrepository.unm.edu\/cgi\/viewcontent.cgi?article=2921&amp;context=nmhr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">had the power to bring rain<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=402&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=402&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=402&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=505&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=505&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709790\/original\/file-20251218-66-7fmhi1.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=505&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"A large wooden ladder with three poles, painted white, leans against an adobe wall under a bright blue sky.\" \/><\/a><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A ladder in Acoma leads up to the entrance to a \u2018kiva,\u2019 a space often used for spiritual activities.<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Acoma_Pueblo_-_Wooden_Ladders.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ian McKeller\/Flickr via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>, <a class=\"license\" href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CC BY-SA<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In 1675, colonial authorities accused Indigenous religious leaders of killing Franciscans with sorcery. They rounded up suspects, executed three and beat others. They also destroyed kivas. Among those imprisoned and then released <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/apachenavahospan0000forb\/page\/n343\/mode\/2up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">was Po\u2019pay<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Pueblo Revolt<\/h2>\n<p>The sting of the lash scarred more than human flesh in Pueblo communities. It fed resentment against colonists. Many of the Pueblos focused their animosity on the clerical authorities who justified the brutality of the Spanish conquest.<\/p>\n<p>As the decade came to a close, the region was gripped in a drought that reduced supplies of food and water, pushing Indigenous communities\u2019 frustrations to a tipping point. <a href=\"https:\/\/uapress.arizona.edu\/book\/revolt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Po\u2019pay led a rebellion<\/a> that reached across Pueblo communities, saying that he was following guidance from Pos\u2019e yemu.<\/p>\n<p>On Aug. 11, 1680, Po\u2019pay and his followers unleashed a reign of terror against Spanish soldiers, colonial farmers and Catholic churches. They <a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300140682\/the-spanish-frontier-in-north-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">systematically destroyed religious buildings<\/a>, whipped statues and crucifixes, abused priests before killing them, and rendered mission bells silent by removing their clappers or drowning them in water. Far outnumbering their opponents, the Pueblos chased the colonizers to Santa Fe and then drove them out of the region.<\/p>\n<p>Po\u2019pay, according to a Native witness named Josephe, <a href=\"https:\/\/oercommons.org\/courseware\/lesson\/108137\/student\/?section=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reveled in the moment, saying<\/a>, \u201cNow the God of the Spaniards, who was their father, is dead.\u201d Historians believe that the attack <a href=\"https:\/\/yalebooks.yale.edu\/book\/9780300140682\/the-spanish-frontier-in-north-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">killed at least 400 colonists and soldiers<\/a>, or about 1 in 6 Spaniards in New Mexico. There had been 33 friars in the province before the uprising. Only 12 survived.<\/p>\n<h2>Against kings and coercion<\/h2>\n<p>In the aftermath of the Pueblos\u2019 military victory, Po\u2019pay led an effort to <a href=\"https:\/\/uapress.arizona.edu\/book\/revolt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">eradicate the last vestiges of Catholicism<\/a> in New Mexico. He ordered that Natives who had converted needed to scrub themselves with yucca branches to remove the stain of baptism. While some churches survived, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/subjects\/travelspanishmissions\/san-estevan-del-rey-mission-church.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">San Estevan del Rey Mission Church<\/a> at Acoma, most of the Spanish friars who had led services in them lay dead.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"align-center zoomable\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=422&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=422&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=422&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/709780\/original\/file-20251218-66-17mqow.jpg?ixlib=rb-4.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=531&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"A black and white photograph of a large adobe building with towers.\" \/><\/a><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">An Ansel Adams photograph, taken in the 1930s or \u201940s, of the San Estevan del Rey Mission Church in Acoma.<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"attribution\"><a class=\"source\" href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Ansel_Adams_-_National_Archives_79-AA-A03.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. National Archives and Records Administration via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>From 1675 to 1680, the European colonial project came under dire threat across North America. In New England, <a href=\"https:\/\/connecticuthistory.org\/americas-most-devastating-conflict-king-philips-war\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Metacom\u2019s, or King Philip\u2019s, War<\/a> \u2014 waged between Indigenous groups and English settlers \u2014 destroyed scores of communities in one of the most destructive conflicts, measured on a per capita basis, in American history. In Virginia, a dissident hinterland landowner named Nathaniel Bacon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/jame\/learn\/historyculture\/bacons-rebellion.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">led a revolt by aggrieved Colonists<\/a> that torched the English provincial capital at Jamestown.<\/p>\n<p>In this violent era, as I describe in <a href=\"https:\/\/global.oup.com\/academic\/product\/contested-continent-9780195372786?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a forthcoming book<\/a>, Po\u2019pay became one of the most consequential figures on the continent \u2014 and the embodiment of the American idea that people should be free from oppressive rulers and free, too, to practice their faith as they see fit.<\/p>\n<p>Po\u2019pay died in 1688. Four years later, Spanish colonizers returned to New Mexico and once again set out to bring the vast desert and its determined residents back under their control.<\/p>\n<p>But they never erased <a href=\"https:\/\/www.history.com\/articles\/pueblo-revolt-1680-popay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the legacy of Po\u2019pay<\/a>, who remains <a href=\"https:\/\/test-dca-mc.nmdca.net\/1-ca-garcia_tewatalesl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a cultural hero<\/a> for his defiant stand against king and cross.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/270361\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/peter-c-mancall-313858\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Peter C. Mancall<\/a>, Distinguished Professor, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of the Humanities, Linda and Harlan Martens Director of the Early Modern Studies Institute, and professor of <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/hist\/\">history<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/anth\/\">anthropology<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/econ\/\">economics<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/the-17th-century-pueblo-leader-who-fought-for-independence-from-colonial-rule-long-before-the-american-revolution-270361\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/americans-can-now-see-a-famous-portrait-of-the-pacific-islander-who-captivated-18th-century-england-for-the-first-time\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Americans can now see a famous portrait of the Pacific Islander who captivated 18th\u2011century England for the first\u00a0time<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/columbus-writings-reveal-how-tightly-religion-and-conquest-were-intertwined-from-the-start\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Columbus\u2019 own writings reveal how tightly religion and conquest were intertwined from the\u00a0start<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/americas-revolution-isnt-over\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >America\u2019s revolution isn\u2019t over\u00a0<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Po&#8217;pay, a Tewa religious leader, led the Pueblo Revolt, the most successful Indigenous rebellion in what\u2019s now the United States.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":26344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,10],"tags":[87,71,83],"class_list":["post-26340","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-and-culture","category-faculty","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-history","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>17th-century Pueblo leader who fought for independence from colonial rule \u2013 long before the American\u00a0Revolution<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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