Hmm... pointers... right now we are very wet. hehe...
I think if you want believability... the big things I would point to people are:
1. There is a wide range of environments. We have mountains, grasslands, and forests, in addition the desert. More importantly, there is a range of subsets within those major environments. Bosque is usually used to refer to the cottonwood forests that run along the rio grande and other major rivers. There is also the scrubland juniper/pinyon forests and large ponderosa expanses in the highlands.
2. We are very culturally diverse. It isnt Anglo/Hispanic/Native American. Native Americans are not a culture group. They are a lot of different ethnic groups lumped together because most outsiders do not know enough to tell them apart. They have their own ethnic stereotypes and their cultural relationships among each other are much more strained than they are with either Anglos or Hispanics. Jemez and Zia are neighbors and waged war with each other historically and prehistorically. The are both "Pueblo" but speak languages that are not related to one another. The only thing they can really agree on is their distrust of the Navajo. Conversely, Isleta and Taos speak Tiwa, but one chased the Spanish out and the other warned the Spanish and aided them in their escape. Each tribe has its own religious ceremonies, societies, and belief system. Some of it is open and some of it is not. For example my avatar is the Tewa Awanyu. The Towa Awanyu (not called an Awanyu) looks remarkable different, but it against tribal customs for the Towa to display their rain serpent. Same thing with Kachinas.
3. We are poor and uneducated. I know that sounds harsh. It is harsh, but we have a lot of areas outside of Santa Fe and Albuquerque that are as bad as the third world. There are plenty of households in New Mexico especially in the older Native American and Hispanic communities that do not have running water or electricity. We just recently beat out Mississippi to be the least educated state in the union. There are a lot of high tech jobs in New Mexico, but most are jobs taken by people who move into the state. Most the higher income families in New Mexico moved here from California or Texas. When I pursued my undergrad degree, I was given a large scholarship because I had the highest GPA of anyone from Moriarty High School that was planning to attend an in-state college and I was a B average student.
4. Lastly, it is a traditional state. I am not even a catholic, but I can tell without having to look it up that in Bernalillo we will be celebrating our lady of sorrows feast day on sunday September 15. There will be dances and a huge mass at our church. Older members of the community will be performing a dance that has been done every year since 1693. Also if you drive by next thursday Jemez Pueblo will be closed for private dances the public is not allowed to see. These are not things that are advertised , not things written down, these are things you just know. Things you expect. The reason it took us over 50 years to achieve statehood is we really have very little in common with a Anglo Country with its roots in protestantism.
Okay I have written long enough. I took way to long of a break to write this... fortunately or unfortunately with all the rain no one is coming to Jemez Historic Site today.
If you want someone to read something and offer feedback. I would be willing. You can hit me up at
matthew.barbour@state.nm.us
