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Acoma Pueblo
Known as Sky City, Acoma Pueblo was strategically built on top of a 357-foot
sandstone mesa many hundreds of years ago for effective defense against
raiders. Spanish conquerors learned of this defensive stronghold when they
entered New Mexico in the 1500s. Acomans 
claim that their 70-acre village
is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the U.S.
Acoma was nearly destroyed when Gov. Juan de Oñate and 70 of his men retaliated for the killing of 13 Spanish soldiers by the Acomas when they tried to take grain from the pueblo storehouses in 1598. As a restitution of peace, the San Esteban del Rey Mission was built in 1629 and completed in 1640 under the guidance of Friar Juan Ramírez. Both the mission and the pueblo have been designated as Registered National Historical Landmarks.
Today, fewer than 50 Acomans live in Sky City year-round and the remaining residents live in nearby villages. Only on feast days do all the Acomans gather on the mesatop. Census 2000 figures indicate a total of 2,802 Acoma villagers.
Sky City is located 60 miles (96 km) west of Albuquerque on I-40 and 12 miles (19 km) south on Indian Route 23, Exit 108. Visitors who wish to visit Acoma Pueblo must receive permission. Tours, camera permits and guides are available at the Sky City Visitor Center and Museum at the base of the mesa, (800) 747-0181, (505) 469-1052.
The tribe also operates the Sky City Travel Center just off I-40, (505)
250-6486, and the Acoma Commercial Center. The pueblo also offers fishing
for a fee at its newly built Acoma Lake; call the pueblo for details.
Guided tours of the pueblo are available, as is original white, orange
and black Acoma pottery. Las Vegas-style gambling is also offered at Sky
City Casino, (800) 747-0181, (505) 552-7860. Www.skycitycasino.com.
Acoma Pueblo
P.O. Box 309, Acoma Pueblo, NM 87034
Phone: (505) 552-6604
Fax: (505) 552-7204