ACOMA, N.M. - One of the most cherished and meaningful celebrations for the people of Acoma Pueblo is our annual Feast Day, a vibrant and timehonored tradition that has endured for more than 300 years. For me, Feast Day is much more than a celebration on the calendar. It is a time when our community comes together to honor our faith, our ancestors, our traditions, and one another. It is a reminder of who we are, where we come from, and the responsibility we carry to those who will come after us.
The day begins with a moving Mass, where our community gathers in reverence and prayer. Following Mass, a procession winds its way through the beautiful landscape of Acoma, leading to the revered shrine of our patron saint, San Esteban. As we make our way together, there is a feeling that is difficult to put into words. It is a sense of connection to our families, our community, the land, our ancestors, and our Creator.
At the shrine, a beautiful blessing takes place, surrounding the community with a profound sense of gratitude and reverence. As the sun moves across the mesa and casts warm, golden rays over the Pueblo, we come alive through traditional dances and prayerful song. The vibrant songs, the rhythmic movement, and the colorful, intricately woven attire reflect generations of cultural knowledge and devotion. These dances are not simply performances. They are expressions of gratitude for the blessings we have received from the Creator and our ancestors, and they are a continuation of traditions entrusted to us by those who came before us.
As the day continues, the streets of the mesa come alive. Visitors have the opportunity to experience Acoma through the beautiful arts, crafts, food, and hospitality shared throughout the community. The aromas of simmering red and green chili stew, fresh oven-baked bread, and delicious prune pie fill the air, inviting everyone to join in. Inside our homes, families and friends gather around tables piled high with food, where stories, laughter, and memories are shared. Our generous hosts embrace relatives, neighbors, and visitors alike. This spirit of hospitality reflects an important Pueblo value: caring for others and recognizing the sacredness of those who enter our homes and our community.
While Feast Day reflects the beautiful intertwining of Catholic faith and Acoma traditions, its meaning extends well beyond any single religious practice. The rich traditions we uphold have become an enduring thread in the fabric of Acoma life for countless generations. Even if the world around us evolves, our profound respect for these traditions remains steadfast.
What truly inspires me is how our understanding of interconnectedness has deepened over time.
As Acoma people, we face many contemporary challenges today, including protecting our water, defending our ancestral lands and natural resources, responding to environmental and climate changes, improving access to health care, strengthening education, and creating opportunities for our young people. Yet these challenges have also reminded us of a timeless truth our ancestors knew well: we are connected, and our well-being depends upon one another.
These trials have fostered a strengthened sense of collective responsibility, encouraging us to stand together, strengthen relationships with neighboring communities, care for our elders, support our families, and make sure our young people understand that their culture and identity are sources of strength. Our challenges have revitalized the importance of traditional knowledge, bringing it back into critical conversations about our land, water, language, agriculture, health, and future.
For me, this is one of the most powerful lessons of being Pueblo. Pueblo life is inherently relational.
Land is connected to water. Water is connected to agriculture. Agriculture is connected to food. Food is connected to family. Family is connected to language and culture. Culture is connected to ceremony. Ceremony is connected to identity. And identity is connected to responsibility for future generations. These connections are not separate pieces of our lives. Together, they make us who we are.
Feast Day gives us an opportunity to experience those connections in a way that is both visible and deeply felt. Families return home. Elders share knowledge. Children watch, dance, listen, learn. Young people become active participants in traditions and customs cherished through generations. Relatives and friends gather around food. Songs and dances fill the Pueblo. Our language and cultural practices are renewed. In these moments, the generations come together, linking the past, present, and future.
September 2nd is therefore more than a day of celebration. It is a day of renewal. It reminds us that our traditions have survived because generations of Acoma people have carried them forward with love, faith, perseverance, and responsibility. It is a reminder that culture is not simply something we inherit; it is something we have a responsibility to protect, practice, and pass on.
For me, the beauty of Acoma Feast Day is found not only in the Mass, the procession, the dances, the food, or the gathering of visitors. Its greatest beauty is in the people. It is in seeing families come together, hearing the stories of our elders, watching our children learn, and feeling the strength of a community that continues to carry its traditions forward despite the challenges we face.
Feast Day is a celebration of faith, but it is also a celebration of identity, family, resilience, and community. It gives us a moment to pause and remember that we are part of something much larger than ourselves.
It is a celebration of where we have come from, who we are today, and the responsibility we have to those who will come after us.
To experience Acoma Feast Day is to catch a glimpse of a living culture, one woven together through faith, tradition, family, land, language, ceremony, love, and an enduring commitment to one another. And for me, there is no greater honor than being part of that story and helping carry it forward.