Performers in the Pueblo Dance Group, which includes members from Pueblos of Laguna, Acoma, Zuni and the Hopi Tribe, perform social dances for the Indigenous People’s Day celebration on Oct. 13, 2025 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)
About three dozen people gathered under cloudy skies at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque Monday morning to see the first traditional dance performances for Indigenous Peoples Day.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2019 declared the second Monday in October Indigenous Peoples Day, and an official state holiday.
The Pueblo Dance Group, which includes members from the Pueblos of Laguna, Acoma, Zuni and Hopi Tribe, opened the celebration Monday morning. One of the group’s founders’ Chris Charlie (Laguna Pueblo) noted the group performed at the International Balloon Fiesta earlier in the week and would be heading for New York City for another performance this month.
‘We’re here to entertain you guys and bless you,” Charlie said to the crowd of about three dozen assembled to watch the dances.
In Santa Fe, the celebration began over the weekend, with dancers from numerous tribes leading into a Monday Honoring Native Nations Powwow on the Plaza.
As part of weekend events leading into Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 13, 2025, Johnathan Keyope, Kathryn Keyope, Emiley Keyope and Josiah Thompson of Acoma Pueblo performed on the Santa Fe Plaza. (Julia Goldberg/Source NM)
Kathryn Keyope (Acoma Pueblo) told Source NM that the holiday provided an opportunity to bring “a little bit more awareness… just to spread knowledge [and] bring a …awareness to everybody around us that comes to visit. We are getting a lot more non-Natives who come and watch us perform, so we definitely appreciate that they enjoy seeing us keeping our roots.”
Her husband Johnathan Keyope noted that they are able to share that history not just with visitors to New Mexico, but in other communities as well. “Some of the areas when we perform back east, local tribes are just far and few in between. So it’s great that we can share ourselves…to educate and to give everyone awareness and knowledge that we’re still here, and we do this; to let people know of our beautiful history and our beautiful culture.”
The Pueblo Dance Group was founded nearly 10 years ago, by Chris Charlie (Laguna Pueblo) this Christmas and includes dancers and singers from various Pueblos and tribal nations in New Mexico.
Marcy Quam, 69, and husband Delbert Quam drove two and half hours from Zuni Pueblo to watch their son perform with the Pueblo Dance Group. ‘It’s important for us Indigenous people to come together and celebrate our day, we can enjoy watching our family, seeing the dances,’ Marcy Quam said. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)
The Pueblo Dance Group performs on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)
From left Isabella Augustine, 15, and Kaliyah Valley, 16, are both dancers from the Pueblo of Acoma, with more than a decade of experience. ‘It’s not just a social dance, it is a prayer for the people, the land and the animals,’ Valley said. (Danielle Prokop / Source NM)
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