Pueblo Negotiations: Unpacking the Impact of Enrollment on Pueblo People’s Reproductive and Social Labor

Keywords: Indigenous Geography; Indigenous women; Pueblo people;
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 32

Abstract

This paper is a working chapter from my forthcoming dissertation. It is a preliminary exploration into the themes that emerged after ten months of virtual fieldwork. I pose the question, how do women in New Mexico’s nineteen Native American Pueblo tribes navigate tribal citizenship/enrollment policies and the effects these rules have on their political, social, cultural, and reproductive status within their communities? I worked with 24 Pueblo people, interviewing each person four times over the span of ten months. During this time we worked together to unpack their lived experiences and my assumptions to unearth important considerations for the future of Pueblo communities. This paper examines three emerging themes: community expectations rooted in gender expectations, marriage as both the goal and to be avoided, and what many participants called, Pueblo accountability. I will share my preliminary understanding of these three themes as they relate to tribal enrollment policies and the implications for the social and reproductive labor of Pueblo women. The result of ten months of virtual fieldwork demonstrate how place, connection to land and landscape are essential for the understanding of Pueblo belonging, especially for those in diaspora. As such, gender and place become integral components when considering changes to tribal enrollment policies.