A view from the entrance to Ghost Ranch
The breathtaking landscapes here have a story to tell. The land is marked with a profound history of violence and oppression that the Indigenous people of the area endured, first at the hands of Spanish colonizers and later by American settlers. This conflict shaped the area into what it is today, but it’s still grappling with this painful history.
Through centuries of colonization, Indigenous peoples in New Mexico faced repeated attempts to erase their cultures, seize their lands, and destroy their communities. Today, the resilience of these communities is a testament to their strength and resolve.
New Mexico feels alive and dynamic, unlike many places I’ve visited. Even the dead, sun-bleached trees gesture as if they’re desperately trying to communicate something. Each winding trail beckons with the promise of discovery. Here, religion is not confined to churches; it breathes in the adobe walls and can be seen in the painted skies as the sun sets against the distant mesas. I can now appreciate why the indigenous people of the area felt the land itself is sacred.
There is a symbiotic relationship between nature and civilization. The adobe structures, made from earth, blend into the landscape. Here, there is little distinction between indoors and the expansive outdoor vistas around every corner.
Storms rolling into Ghost Ranch
Religion in New Mexico is a complex mix of Native American, Spanish, and Catholic influences shaped by brutal colonization and cultural violence against the Indigenous Peoples of the area. With the arrival of Spanish colonizers in the 16th century, Catholicism was forcibly introduced, and this period marked the beginning of a brutal colonization process, where Indigenous beliefs were suppressed.
Loretto Chapel - The "Miraculous Staircase"
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
Loretto Chapel
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi
San Miguel Chapel
Cross of the Martyrs
Georgia O’Keeffe’s relationship with New Mexico transformed both her art and her legacy, creating a deep connection between her work and the American Southwest. New Mexico itself has become synonymous with O’Keeffe’s vision, with artists from all over the world continuing to draw inspiration from the same vistas she immortalized in her paintings. Her ability to find beauty in the barren and the overlooked helped shape the artistic narrative of the Southwest, making her not only an artist of international renown but an inseparable part of New Mexico’s cultural fabric. O’Keeffe’s work in New Mexico serves as a testament to the transformative power of place on an artist’s work and spirit, a reminder of how the land and its beauty can become a lifelong passion.
O'Keeffe's home in Abiquiu
The front of O'Keeffe's Abiquiu home
A ladder O'Keeffe climbed to watch the stars at night
Long ago, Native Americans understood the sanctity in scarcity, where the natural world is revered, and every resource, no matter how abundant or scarce, is treated with respect and gratitude. This profound relationship with nature, and the acknowledgment of its finite offerings, reflects a worldview that sees life as interconnected, where scarcity enhances the spiritual significance of the natural elements that sustain life. Our modern culture ignores this reality at our own peril.
“Only after the last tree has been cut down, after the last river has been poisoned, after the last fish has been caught, only then will you find that money cannot be eaten.”
On the evening of my last night in New Mexico, as the sun began to sink behind the distant hills and the moon rose, I stood in quiet reflection. It was no longer an abstract concept or a distant warning. In that moment, it became a visceral truth. The earth, in all its beauty and fragility, is not something to be conquered or commodified. It is not a resource to be exploited until exhaustion. It is sacred—our source of life.
