Zia Pueblo, NM

Zia Pueblo sits on a basalt mesa in Sandoval County between the Sierra Nacimiento slopes and the San Pedro River Valley. The pueblo has been home to Keresan-speaking people for centuries, with traditional dwellings, plazas, kivas, and the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción forming a historic settlement pattern. The sun symbol associated with Zia has traveled far beyond the pueblo, but the place itself remains rooted in agriculture, language, ceremony, and the land around the Jemez River Valley.

Education is woven into that setting. T’siya Day School began in 1885 and now carries Zia Pueblo language, tradition, and community teachings through its elementary program. The Pueblo’s Education Department also supports language preservation, cultural programs, a library, early childhood education, and pathways for older students. Zia Pueblo is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, while Jemez Valley Public Schools provides another public-school connection. The village’s story is held in buildings, fields, classrooms, and the ceremonial calendar, all within a place whose history reaches back more than six hundred years.