Red chili peppers drying outside of houses aren’t a common sight for most Americans, but one you would see if you visited the Pueblo of Jemez. You would also admire their artistic skill.

Pronounced “Hay Mess,” the Pueblo of Jemez is situated in north central New Mexico, less than an hour northwest of Albuquerque and just under 100 miles from Santa Fe. One of the 19 pueblos of New Mexico, it is known to the 3400+ members as “Walatowa” or “This is the Place.”

Jemez is the only remaining Towa-speaking pueblo and the community is full of language, culture, traditions and Jemez artisans. Although Jemez is well known for its pottery, they are also master crafters of baskets, woven clothes, sculptures from stone, jewelry and embroidery.

Examples of these art forms are displayed at the Pueblo of Jemez Senior Citizen Program but travelers can also purchase items at the Walatowa Visitor Center or the Open Art Market in the Red Rocks.

This year, the Council of Indian Nations (CIN) Program selected this community to receive winter preparedness boxes through our special Weatherization service. This service is important because:

• It gets cold and windy in the winter. Temperatures frequently drop below freezing. The winter winds can blow hard, making the temperatures even colder. In Jemez, the coldest month is typically December and had a lowest recorded temperature of -18 degrees below Fahrenheit in the early 1970’s. In comparison, the temperature fell to 17 degrees in October 2011! December brought snow, fog and rain with the lowest temperature recorded at 2 below! 45 mile an hour winds were the high in this area for the season.
  
  
• Access to goods and services is limited in the Southwest service area and this holds true for the Jemez as well. This access or lack of access poses additional problems for the people affected by emergencies or inclement weather. The goods they require to meet their basic needs are sometimes not available in their community and travel to a border town or larger community is necessary to secure these basic supplies. The Pueblo does have a gas station and a convenience store. But, prices at the convenience store are typically 3 times higher than most major stores and the nearest full service grocery store is 30 miles away in the town of Bernalillo. This community is considered a “food desert”. Defined as a low income area where the nearest grocery store is over a mile away. Add transportation access issues with a winter emergency, getting to food and supplies can be crippling.

Hundreds of Native American Elders in four different southwest communities received these winter preparedness supplies. The goal was to help them fight the chill and give them some ready-to-eat food items, drinks, blankets, candles, personal care products, and other supplies that would help in the case of a winter emergency. Thanks to the generosity of donors, this goal was happily met.