Native Martin Luther King?

Short Takes:) Upcoming Po’Pay Feature; Collaboration is a Beautiful Thing...Po'Pay is, without hyperbole, Indigenous America's Martin Luther King. Sad thing is, very few people–Native or not–have ever heard of this great man. Po'Pay is North America's first revolutionary war hero. No, not THAT revolution–the revolution of Native people against the Spaniards. He was born around 1630 in Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo (formerly known as San Juan Pueblo), later becoming a religious leader. In 1680 Po’pay organized the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish–which ultimately helped to ensure the survival of the Pueblo traditions, language and religion, and restored a respect for life, harmony, peace and freedom. Amazing.

In honor of his achievements, the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo is producing a feature length documentary; enlisting the filmmaking talents of Derek Stokes and Catherine Angeles. The documentary is in post-production as we speak, with an eye on a 2008 Sundance premiere. We will be publishing a feature article about this ground-breaking film in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please take a few minutes to watch an eight-minute promo video. You will be impressed!!Comment:  Popé is more like Malcolm X than Martin Luther King Jr., if you ask me. In Revolutionary War terms, he would be Sam Adams, not Thomas Jefferson or Ben Franklin.

See Popé Called "Murderer" for Killing Spanish Conquerors for more on the subject.