Photo essay: SFIS students celebrate school’s Feast Day

Traditional songs mixed with the smell of blue corn muffins and Pueblo red chile enchiladas on Indigenous Peoples’ Day

By: Danielle Prokop - October 10, 2023 4:41 pm

A dance group with Elvia Sanchez perform the Hopi Butterfly Dance, at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on Oct. 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

The Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day is a moment of celebration and prayers, said superintendent Christie Abeyta.

“As the years progressed, the dancers increased, and the visitors increased, vendors became part of the day,” Abeyta (Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Ohkay Owingeh and Isleta) said in opening remarks about the feast day’s history.

Attendees thronged the thoroughfare to the school’s plaza, meandering through vendors and school groups.

Students posted up on the library and the humanities building, all the better to see the foot races and dances below.

The smells of blue corn muffins and red chile enchiladas wafted across the air.

SFIS is owned and operated by the 19 Pueblos in New Mexico. Nearly 700 students from the 19 Pueblos, Navajo and Apache nations, and other Southwest tribes attend the campus, located in Santa Fe.

A dance group from Jennifer Shije perform the Zia Buffalo Dance, at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on October 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

The Water Strider Dance Group perform the Zuni Deer Dance, at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on October 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

A dance group from Elvia Sanchez perform the Hopi Butterfly Dance, at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on Oct. 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

A dance group with Elvia Sanchez perform the Hopi Butterfly Dance, at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on Oct. 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

A dance group with Owen Padilla await to perform the San Felipe Buffalo Dance at the Santa Fe Indian School Feast Day on Oct. 9, 2023. (Photo by Diana Cervantes for Source NM)

Watch the entire SFIS Feast Day 2023 livestream here:

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site.

Danielle Prokop

Danielle Prokop covers the environment and local government in Southern New Mexico for Source NM. Her coverage has delved into climate crisis on the Rio Grande, water litigation and health impacts from pollution. She is based in Las Cruces, New Mexico.