When Cultures Meet

San Gabriel del Yunge Oweenge was not only the first European settlement in the Territory now known as New Mexico but it was also the first capital of that area. It happened in 1598, a coming together of two diverse cultures. How did it all work out? Some of the answers were found in a 1984 conference held at San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico. A group of historians, anthropologists, archaeologists, writers and Pueblo leaders gathered to discuss the immediate and long-term consequences of that settlement. In particular, they looked at the historical and cultural effects on both sides. The participants included Marc Simmons, Florence Hawley Ellis, Myra Ellen Jenkins, Herman Agoyo, Orlando Romero, Lynnwood Brown, Richard I. Ford and Jim Sagel. By popular request from people who were not able to attend the conference, the papers that were given there were collected in this book.