The Journal of San Diego History
Summer 1996, Volume 42, Number 3
Contents of This Issue

Book Notes
Clare V. McKanna Jr., Book Review Editor

Indian Uprising on the Rio Grande: The Pueblo Revolt of 1690.   By Franklin Folsom. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1996. Maps. Illustrations. Bibliography. Index. 144 pages. $12.95 paper.

This is a reprint of Red Power on the Rio Grande: The Native American Revolution of 1680 originally published in 1973. Issued with an introduction by Alfonso Ortiz, this is the retelling of the revolt with a more sympathetic view of the Pueblo that provides another dimension to the rebellion. Normally, the story has been told from a Spanish perspective that often clouds the real issues. Pope, a spiritual leader, led the revolt after the Franciscans destroyed kivas, kachina masks, prayer feathers, and other religious objects. With the final indignity of being flogged in public for conducting Pueblo rituals, Pope began to plan his revolt. The Franciscan priests not only attempted to eliminate Pueblo religion but also radically restructured the family by eliminating the kachina cult initiations and stopping puberty rituals for young women who were coming of age. Although it is a good antidote for Robert Silverberg's Pueblo Revolt and other pro-Spanish books, its weakness is the absence of any significant discussion of the various Pueblo religious factors that led to the revolt. It does, however, commemorate the only successful revolution by Native Americans against Spanish rule.