Acoma people

Acoma
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Dwellings on the mesa at Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Show map of New Mexico Acoma Show map of the US
Nearest city	Casa Blanca, New Mexico
Coordinates	34°53′47″N 107°34′55″W / 34.89639°N 107.58194°W / 34.89639; -107.58194Coordinates: 34°53′47″N 107°34′55″W / 34.89639°N 107.58194°W / 34.89639; -107.58194
Area	270 acres (110 ha)
Built	1100 (1100)
Architectural style	Colonial, Spanish Colonial
NRHP reference #	66000500
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHLD	October 9, 1960

Acoma Pueblo (/ˈækəmə/; Western Keresan: ʔáák’u [ʔɑ́ːk'ù]; Zuni: Hakukya; Navajo: Haak’oh) is a Native American pueblo approximately 60 miles (97 km) west of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States. Three villages make up Acoma Pueblo: Sky City (Old Acoma), Acomita, and Mcartys. The Acoma Pueblo tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity. The historical land of Acoma Pueblo totaled roughly 5,000,000 acres (2,000,000 ha). The community retains only 10% of this land, making up the Acoma Indian Reservation. Acoma Pueblo is a National Historic Landmark.

According to the 2010 United States Census, 4,989 people identified as Acoma. The Acoma have continuously occupied the area for more than 800 years, making this one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States (along with Hopi pueblos). Acoma tribal traditions estimate that they have lived in the village for more than two thousand years.

The English name Acoma was borrowed from Spanish Ácoma (1583) or Acóma (1598). The Spanish name was borrowed from the Acoma word ʔáák’u̓u̓m̓é meaning 'person from Acoma Pueblo'. ʔáák’u̓u̓m̓é itself is derived from ʔáák’u (singular, plural: ʔaak’u̓u̓m̓e̓e̓ʈʂʰa). The name does not have any meaning in the modern Acoma language. Some tribal authorities connect it to the similar word háák’u 'preparedness, place of preparedness' and suggest that this might be the origin of the name. The name does not mean 'sky city'. Other tribal elders assert that it means 'place that always was' while outsiders say it means 'people of the white rock'.