Pope, c.1630-c.1690, a celebrated medicine man of the Tewa
PUEBLO Indians at San Juan, N. Mex., instigated a
successful rebellion against the Spaniards in 1680.
Preaching resistance to the Spanish and restoration of the
traditional Pueblo culture and religion, Pope led his
people in an attempt to obliterate all Spanish influence.
On Aug. 10, 1680, the Indians under his leadership killed
about 400 missionaries and colonists and drove the other
Spaniards south to El Paso, Tex. Pope and his followers
then proceeded to destroy Christian churches and other
evidences of the Spanish presence in Pueblo territory.
Thereafter, as the head of several Tewa villages, Pope
exerted what many considered increasingly harsh rule.
Dissension arose, weakening Pueblo unity, and in 1692, two
years after Pope's death, the Spaniards regained control.
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