12th Annual Conference Breaks New Ground

Jake Gold, among the first Jews to settle in Sante Fe, with unidentified Pueblo Indian woman and baby. Photo courtesy of Museum of New Mexico Neg. #9894.

or the first time in the history of the Society, the focus of our annual conference will be on the relationship between the Jewish pioneers of the Territory of New Mexico and the Pueblo Indians with whom they became so close. Authors, journalists and researchers will present unique material regarding the life of Jews in New Mexico and the greater Southwest.
      A special field trip to the Acoma Pueblo is a highlight of the weekend conference. For the first time, multiple generations of the Bibo family will gather together to share memories of family stories and the extraordinary saga of Solomon Bibo, the first non-Indian governor of a Pueblo. Solomon Bibo spoke English very poorly, but he was fluent in Spanish and Queres, the native Indian language. Biboís dealings with the indigenous peoples over many years put him in a unique and popular position. He was not only the first Jew to be an ìIndian chief,î but he was also the first white man to assume such a position. The first public display of Solomon Biboís revolver, which is owned by collector, Saul Cohen, will take place when we are at Acoma. Saul will reveal how he came to own this unique artifact of New Mexican history.
      According to keynote speaker, Mel Marks, author of Jews Among The Indians, the Jews were important because they helped the Indians assimilate into the society of the white settler, a role the Jews were able to play because of their uncanny knack for learning the various Indian dialects. The Indians helped the Jewish peddlers establish a dynamic market for goods and services. It was a productive and symbiotic relationship which is interesting to explore.
      Other conference presentations will include the remarkable personal journey of Marjorie Weinberg-Berman, who will reveal a contemporary view of Jewish and Indian relationships. She is completing a book on the 50-year friendship she has cultivated with a Native American family. Abe Chanin, emeritus director of the Southwest Jewish Archives at the University of Arizona, has written five books on the Southwest. Abe will give an overview of the interactions Jews and Pueblo Indians had in both New Mexico and Arizona. Abe will describe both the friendly and the hostile relationships which he has personally documented in his valuable research. A. David Scholder, current president of the Society, will present a talk on ìJews, Pueblos, and Pioneers: Creating The New Economy On The Frontier.î