Who are the Zuni Native Americans?
The Zuni or Ashiwi are a Native American tribe, one of the Pueblo peoples, who live in the Pueblo of Zuni on the Zuni River, a tributary of the Little Colorado River, in western New Mexico. Zuni is 55 km (35 miles) south of Gallup, New Mexico and has a population of about 6,000, nearly all Native Americans, with 43.0% of the population below the poverty line. Legend has it that many, many years ago, the Ashiwi (Ahhhh-she-we, the name the Zuni people call themselves) came up to this Earth from the underworld at a place that is identified as either the Grand Canyon or the Mojave Desert. For many generations, the Ashiwi wandered throughout the area. Finally, they settled in the place they are now. They call this area the center or middle place. The Zuni Indians of today are one of 19 original tribes that once inhabited the area that is now called New Mexico and Arizona – The Zuni River Valley. The Zuni tribe is said to have originated from a tribe that lived in the same area over 1,500 ye
