Pojoaque, NM

Pojoaque is an unincorporated Santa Fe County community in the Pojoaque Valley, where Pojoaque Creek runs down from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and joins the Rio Tesuque to form the Pojoaque River. The 2020 census counted 2,071 residents. The Tewa name refers to a water-drinking place, and the water connection is still the clearest way to read the valley. Pojoaque's history reaches from an early Spanish mission and the 1680 Pueblo Revolt to the present-day Pueblo of Pojoaque and the surrounding communities.

The Poeh Cultural Center and Museum keeps Tewa art, exhibitions, classrooms, and traditional practices at the center of the local picture. Pojoaque Valley schools serve the valley from kindergarten through high school, while Buffalo Thunder Resort and Casino and the Cities of Gold Casino bring a major hospitality and gaming economy into the community. Santa Fe is close enough for larger trips, while Pojoaque has its own cultural and institutional map: Pueblo government, creek and valley roads, schools, art, and the casino corridor.