Feliciana Tapia Viarrial (1904-1988)

The return the panel describes was led by her father. Antonio José Tapia was among the last to leave Pojoaque in 1913, and after the federal government restored the land in 1932 he brought a few families back, Feliciana's among them. She had married Fermin Viarrial of Chimayó in 1925. Her son Jacob Viarrial was elected governor of the pueblo in 1978 and served twenty-two years. This panel was unveiled in front of the pueblo's O' Eating House with a blessing and the Pueblo of Pojoaque Dancers.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Feliciana Tapia Viarrial (1904-1988) Pojoaque Pueblo Feliciana Tapia Viarrial helped establish today's Pueblo of Pojoaque. Pojoaque, or Posuwageh, water drinking place, is a Tewa village founded circa A.D. 900. By 1913, the Pojoaque homelands were severely diminished. Most members left for neighboring Pueblos and Colorado. The families, including Feliciana's, returned after 1932 when the federal government restored their homelands. Mother of eleven, Feliciana was a matriarch of the community as it revitalized its culture. Official Scenic Historic Marker New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative The New Mexico Historic Women Marker Initiative was founded in 2005 by members of the New Mexico Women's Forum in a statewide effort to recognize women's contributions to New Mexico history on the state's Official Scenic Historic Markers. The Initiative ensures that women's diverse histories will be remembered and told, and will inspire and provide a guide for future generations. The 2006 Legislature funded the project.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• El Santuario de Chimayó — 9.5 mi
  A small adobe shrine on the High Road to Taos, built around 1816 over earth that pilgrims still carry away in hope of healing.
• Palace of the Governors — 14 mi
  The long adobe on the north side of the Santa Fe plaza, called the oldest public building in continuous use in the country, though its own founding date is in dispute.
• Fuller Lodge — 16 mi
  The upright-log dining hall of a boys' ranch school, which fed and housed the Manhattan Project after the Army bought the school in 1942.
• Bandelier National Monument — 16 mi
  Rooms carved into soft volcanic tuff in Frijoles Canyon, named for a Swiss scholar who was led there in 1880 by a man from Cochiti Pueblo.

More markers nearby

• The St. Francis Women's Club — 2.8 mi
• Tesuque Rain Gods — 4.3 mi
• Pueblo of Tesuque — 4.3 mi
• Jémez Mountains — 5.1 mi