Experience Pueblo Culture at Native American-Owned Hotel Santa Fe

Visitors looking to experience the pride, passion, and pure spirit of the Native American people that Santa Fe is renowned for can begin their journey at Hotel Santa Fe. A sanctuary for the cultural traveler, Hotel Santa Fe embodies the pure spirit and cultural heritage of the Picuris Pueblo people.

Native American pueblo culture, Hotel Santa Fe woven tapestry of the Picuris Pueblo flag

Flag of the Picuris Pueblo at Hotel Santa Fe ©Priscilla Willis

Native-American Majority Ownership

When a group of local business people came to the Picuris about building a casino they declined. At the third overture, the tribal council responded by voting “No” on the casino and said, “Let’s build a hotel, and here we are today.” Construction on the hotel began in 1988 and the hotel opened in March 1991 with 183 rooms. In 2003, The Hacienda opened with 85 secluded luxury rooms which include butler service, private access, breakfast, and evening receptions.

The Picuris Pueblo’s 51% ownership in Hotel Santa Fe makes it the only Native American-owned hotel in downtown Santa Fe. Whether you are a guest of the hotel or hacienda, visiting the spa, or dining at Amaya, you will enter a deeply reverent immersion into the art, architecture, music, and language of the Pueblo people while enjoying the relaxed ambiance of the property.

Richard Mermejo of the Picuris Pueblo ©Priscilla Willis

Dinner With Picuris Pueblo Tribal Elder at Hotel Santa Fe

On a recent visit to Santa Fe, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to dine with Richard Mermejo who represents the Picuris Pueblo on the hotel’s board of directors. Richard also served four terms as governor of Picuris but jokes that he has retired from politics. Being able to dine and talk frankly with a tribal elder was a truly memorable experience and I would like to thank Hotel Santa Fe and Visit Santa Fe for hosting us in conjunction with the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) conference.

Patio dining at Amaya | Photo courtesy of Hotel Santa Fe

Helmed by Executive Chef Walter Dominguez, the hotel’s restaurant Amaya treats guests to the centuries-old culinary traditions of Northern New Mexico and the Picuris Pueblo people in a casual, inviting atmosphere. Amaya’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus focus on the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients in creative dishes inspired by the region’s rich Native American history.

Locally Sourced, Pueblo Grown Ingredients

Like all proper dinners, we started with a cocktail and, since we were supporting the Santa Fe Margarita Trail, several of us ordered the Amaya Jalapeño Margarita. Delicious and refreshing, their simple traditional margarita sports a nice kick from jalalpeño.

Jalapeno Margarita, Amaya restaurant, Hotel Santa Fe

Amaya Jalapeño Margarita ©Priscilla Willis

Native American-Inspired Cuisine

Suitably complementing the thought-provoking table conversation, the meal itself was nothing short of incredible. Beginning with freshly-baked bread and cornmeal muffins and ending with a perfectly cooked filet of elk and a tray of delectable housemade desserts, we were duly impressed with the restaurant’s homage to the Native American cuisine of Northern New Mexico.

Following a velvety, appropriately seasonal, squash soup to whet the appetite, the next three courses highlighted local farm-raised Ruby Trout, Quail, and Elk. These dishes are specialties listed under “Red Mesa Cuisine” on Amaya’s dinner menu featuring the bold artwork of Crow artist Kevin Red Star.

Pan-fried red chile cornbread crusted trout with watercress ©Priscilla Willis

Quail with red chile glaze at Amaya restaurant, Hotel Santa Fe

Marinated quail breast glazed with San Juan chile honey ©Priscilla Willis

Elk tenderloin with chokecherry sauce at Amaya restaurant, Hotel Santa Fe

Elk tenderloin with chokecherry-cherry sauce, sweet potato mash ©Priscilla Willis

More Ways to Experience Native American Culture at Hotel Santa Fe

Hotel Santa Fe is home to a multi-million dollar collection of Native American art, sculpture, and pottery allowing visitors and guests to explore Picuris Pueblo culture through artwork and outdoor sculptures.
Sooth and restore your body and soul with a massage, facial, or full body treatment in the tranquility of the hotel’s spa. Or indulge your spirit with a spa ritual service enveloped by the sacred scents of the high desert: aromatic cedar, wild sage, juniper, and piñon.
For the ultimate Amaya dining experience, make a reservation for a private dinner in a traditional teepee. Available seasonally (Memorial Day – Labor Day) for up to 6 guests, this family-style dining is an adventurous and fun experience laid out with blankets and native cuisine.
Enhance your meeting event with unique cultural experiences, including guided tours of the Picuris Pueblo, storytelling with our resident historian, and performances by Picuris tribal dancers in authentic headdress and ceremonial attire.

An ancient ladder at Bandelier Monument ©Priscilla Willis

Brief History of the Picuris Pueblo

Picuris is a small remote Indian pueblo located north of Santa Fe near Taos in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The easternmost of the New Mexico Pueblos, the Picuris fostered trade between the plains Indians and their pueblo neighbors. In the lush valleys, there is evidence of prehistoric farming dating to 750 AD. The Picuris depended on the cultivation of the “three sisters”: beans, corn, and squash. However, growing chiles—another staple of New Mexican cuisine was unsuccessful due to the high elevation.

In 1591, Spanish explorers in search of wealth, souls to convert, and conquest, discovered the area and life in the secluded valley changed forever. Under Spanish rule, each pueblo was renamed and Picuris became known as San Lorenzo which it is still sometimes called today. In their brutal attempt to impose Catholicism on every soul under Spanish rule, priests and troops stationed at the Indian pueblos relentlessly tried to force the native people to abandon the religious practices which had been part of their daily lives for thousands of years and embrace the Catholic faith. Years of violence and murder ensued and on August 10, 1680, the Tewa pueblos and the Tiwa-speaking Picuris and Taos Pueblos joined with the Towa and the Apaches del Acho to retaliate. The Pueblo uprising killed or drove out all the Spaniards from their northern homelands.

New Mexico history needs to be rewritten and be more transparent. What’s not in the history books is how Christianity was brutally introduced into the pueblos. I could never understand how people could steal, cheat, murder, and rape in the name of their lord. Our lord is totally different. Our god is not the image of man – it’s the whole universe. {Richard Mermejo}