Culture
Southwest — Navajo & Hopi
Location
New Mexico, United States
Key Figures
Taos Pueblo elders, President Richard Nixon (1970 return)
Images via Wikimedia Commons
The Myth
The story as told by the culture
Taos Pueblo's multi-story adobe structures have been continuously inhabited for over 1,000 years, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied communities in North America. But the most sacred element of Taos Pueblo is not the buildings — it is Blue Lake (Ba Whyea), a pristine alpine lake at 11,000 feet in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains above the pueblo.
Blue Lake is the place of emergence in Taos cosmology — the site where the Taos people came into being. It is the source of life, the center of the world, and the destination of the dead. The lake is not a metaphor. It is not a 'symbol' of sacredness. It is sacred in itself — the water, the basin, the surrounding forest. Annual pilgrimages to the lake are central to Taos religious practice, and the ceremonies conducted there are closed to outsiders.
The Taos people do not discuss the specifics of Blue Lake ceremonialism with non-Pueblo people. What is known publicly is that the lake is understood as a living entity, that it is the source of the Rio Pueblo de Taos which flows through the pueblo, and that the relationship between the people and the lake is the foundation of Taos identity. When the lake was threatened, the pueblo fought for 64 years to get it back.
Want more like this?
Get one sacred site deep-dive every week — myth, history, and travel tips.
By subscribing, you agree to receive occasional emails from Mythic Grounds. Unsubscribe anytime.
Myth types
The Place
The physical location today
Taos Pueblo is located approximately 1 mile north of the town of Taos, New Mexico, at an elevation of roughly 7,000 feet. The pueblo consists of two main multi-story adobe structures — Hlaauma (North House) and Hlaukwima (South House) — flanking the Rio Pueblo de Taos. The buildings are constructed of sun-dried adobe bricks and are maintained using traditional methods. There is no running water or electricity in the historic structures by choice — the pueblo's residents have voted to maintain traditional living conditions.
Blue Lake sits at approximately 11,000 feet in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, roughly 20 miles northeast of the pueblo. The lake and its surrounding 48,000 acres of watershed are closed to non-tribal members. The pueblo itself is open to visitors during designated hours, with some areas restricted.
Visit information
Access
Taos Pueblo — entrance fee required; Blue Lake area closed to non-tribal members
Nearest city
Taos, NM
Notes
The pueblo is open to visitors most days but closes for ceremonies (typically 10 weeks per year, including late winter through early spring). Photography fees apply; some areas are off-limits. Respect posted restrictions. Blue Lake and the surrounding watershed are permanently closed to non-Pueblo visitors.
The History
What archaeology and scholarship tell us
In 1906, the US government seized Blue Lake and the surrounding watershed and incorporated them into what became Carson National Forest. The Taos people protested immediately and continuously. In 1926, they were offered monetary compensation; they refused. In 1933, they were offered a permit to use the lake for ceremonial purposes; they refused anything less than return of the land itself. The legal and political fight continued for decades.
In 1970, President Richard Nixon signed legislation returning Blue Lake and 48,000 surrounding acres to Taos Pueblo — the first time the US government returned land to a Native American tribe on the basis of religious freedom rather than monetary compensation. John J. Bodine's chapter on Taos Pueblo in the 'Handbook of North American Indians, Volume 9: Southwest' (Smithsonian, 1979) provides the standard ethnographic and historical account. R.C. Gordon-McCutchan's 'The Taos Indians and the Battle for Blue Lake' (1991) details the 64-year legal struggle.
Sources
Bodine, John J.. Taos Pueblo (1979). Smithsonian Institution (Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. 9: Southwest). Standard ethnographic and historical account of Taos Pueblo in the authoritative Smithsonian handbook series
Tier 1Gordon-McCutchan, R.C.. The Taos Indians and the Battle for Blue Lake (1991). Red Crane Books. Detailed account of the 64-year legal struggle to reclaim Blue Lake
Tier 21,000+ years of continuous habitation; the emergence time
Mythic Grounds acknowledges that many sites documented here are sacred to Indigenous peoples and living cultural communities. We strive to present information respectfully, drawing only from published and authorized sources. If you are a member of a community represented on this site and believe any content is inaccurate or culturally inappropriate, please contact us.