Virgil Ortiz
Omtua Runner, 2024
archival print
16 x 20”
Copyright The Artist
Po’pay and the delegates elect Tesuque pueblo runners Omtua and Catua to spread word of the revolt to each pueblo. Each runner carries knotted deer-hide strips more than 50 miles...
Po’pay and the delegates elect Tesuque pueblo runners Omtua and Catua to spread word of the revolt to each pueblo. Each runner carries knotted deer-hide strips more than 50 miles to surrounding villages, their muscles burning and their feet bruised as they serve as messengers for their pueblo people. Each pueblo is to untie one knot per day until all the knots are untied and the day comes for all the pueblos to simultaneously revolt. To quote revered pueblo governor Herman Agoyo, “This ingenious plan was cut short and the revolt began early. Catua and Omtua were captured and hanged, becoming the first to give their lives to the cause.”