Old Acoma "Sky City"

A shield that left the mesa in the 1970s took a law to bring home. In May 2016 the people of Haak'u found it listed by a Paris auction house, and when the governor asked for its return the house invited him to bid; Acoma law forbade buying it back. Public outcry stopped the sale, and after three years of court and diplomatic work the shield was surrendered to the United States embassy in Paris and came home in November 2019. Congress passed the STOP Act, banning the export of tribal patrimony, in 2022.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Old Acoma "Sky City" Legend describes Acoma as a "place that always was". Archeological evidence shows it has been occupied since at least the 13th century. Established on this mesa for defensive purposes, Acoma was settled by inhabitants of nearby pueblos which had been abandoned, Nearly destroyed by the Spanish in 1599, Acoma was quickly reestablished by ancestors of its present occupants.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Acoma Sky City — 12 mi
  Haak'u, the village on a sandstone mesa west of Albuquerque, seen only on the pueblo's own tours, with a mission whose roof beams were carried on foot from Mount Taylor.

More markers nearby

• Pueblo of Ácoma — 0.3 mi
• Pueblo of Laguna — 0.3 mi
• The Battle of Khe Sanh, Vietnam 1968 — 3.0 mi
• Old Acoma "Sky City" — 9.9 mi