During the late 1960s, the US saw an unprecedented explosion of commune formation driven by the hippie counterculture. Alienated by the mainstream conformist, consumption-oriented society, a generation of young people left their places of origin to “tune in and drop out” and “get back to the land.” New Mexico was one of the epicenters for commune development, however the reasons for this are not entirely clear. The climate is harsh and life difficult. Nevertheless, New Mexico had inexpensive land and a reputation for artistic communities around Taos and Santa Fe starting in the early 20th century. In 1967, Rick Klein used his inheritance of $50,000 to purchase 100 acres of land in Arroyo Hondo near Taos and established New Buffalo with a group of friends. They quickly faced several challenges including the loss of their main structure to fire in 1968 and an influx of more residents than the infrastructure could handle. Membership experienced constant turnover and extreme seasonal fluctuations. The residents lived frugally; dozens of inhabitants were supported for only forty dollars per week. Aside from growing their own vegetables and grain, communards hunted their own meat and collected firewood from thirty miles away.  Following New Buffalo, as many as twenty-five communes appeared in the area around Taos and Santa Fe. This influx of new inhabitants had an impact on the local communities. The relationship with local Native Americans was complex. On one hand, some of the communes had good relations with local tribes such as the Taos Pueblo. For example, Klein named New Buffalo in honor of the significance of the buffalo for the Indians, and the members were interested in Indian architectural and sartorial practices and studied the ceremonial use of peyote under Native teachers. However, some scholars have accused the communards of “playing Indian.”  In contrast, the relationship with the local Hispanic population was much more contentious and the area around Taos became the site of the US’s most explosive conflict between local inhabitants and hippies, known locally as the “Hippie-Chicano War.” Nearby Hispanic communities resented the communards, perceiving that they came from prosperous backgrounds yet chose to live in poverty, that they flaunted social norms, that they were unhygienic, sex-crazed dope fiends, and that they might negatively affect the economically important local tourist industry. Incidents such as dynamiting, arson, and telephone threats occurred. The conflict came to a head when one nearby commune member was murdered, two others beaten, and a third raped. Soon after, the pace of commune establishment slowed and cultural conflicts became less salient. New Buffalo came to public attention when it served as the inspiration for some commune scenes in the film Easy Rider, although shooting did not take place on the property itself. By the early 1980s, New Buffalo’s population had dwindled and Rick Klein decided to turn the property into a hippie-themed bed and breakfast referred to as the “Far Out Inn” by the LA Times.  It was later purchased by a person interested in preserving the historic site.

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Taos Pueblo’s remote location has instilled a fierce independence in its native people. The people of Taos tell that they arrived to the site following an eagle which dropped two feathers on opposite sides of two streams. This was an indication that the people should settle here.

Since Taos was on the very periphery of Spanish rule, it was more able to defend its customs than other pueblos. Twenty years before the Pueblo Revolt, the Taos people demolished the San Geronimo de Taos mission and executed the resident priest. The Spanish rebuilt the mission soon after, but then Taos Puebloans demolished it again during the Pueblo Revolt.

After being imprisoned by the Spanish along with forty-six other Pueblo religious leaders, Popé realized that the Spanish needed to be removed from New Mexico permanently in order for the Puebloan people to have peace and religious freedom. He was set free by armed Puebloan warriors who were furious at the execution of three of Popé’s fellow spiritual leader prisoners. Once free, he moved from his native Ohkay Owingeh pueblo to the more distant Taos Pueblo, where he could operate from a safer position. He spent the next five years organizing the pueblos to rebel against the Spanish. Popé promised his supporters that when the Spanish were sent back to Mexico, the Pueblo deities would reward the Pueblos with peace and prosperity. When he had acquired sufficient support, he handed out knotted cords to the leaders within his network. These came with instructions that the holders of the cords needed to untie a knot every day, and that when the cord was free of knots, it was time to attack. He chose not to send cords to the southern Pueblos; he doubted their loyalty due to their stronger willingness to adopt Spanish customs.

The Pueblo Revolt ignited on August 11, 1680. Puebloans burned down missions as the first targets of the revolt, with twenty-one of the thirty-three Franciscans in New Mexico being killed on the first day. The Spaniards that were able to escape from the hinterlands fled to Santa Fe, where Governor Otermin had barricaded himself within the Palace of the Governors and some fortified parts of the plaza. The siege of Santa Fe started three days later.

Taos retained its independence from Spanish reconquest a little longer than other pueblos due to its distance from Santa Fe. Once back within the Spanish sphere, it became a prosperous center of trade between the the Hispanosphere and the nomadic peoples of the plains and mountains. Taos was the center of the Taos Revolt against the American occupation of New Mexico, which led to the destruction of their mission church and the slaughter of hundreds of people.

In the present day, Taos Pueblo has been extremely successful in preserving its culture. It has the largest traditional multi-story pueblo left and, through fierce court battles against the United States, has regained access to its Sacred Blue Lake.

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