Our History
The History of T'siya Day School
T’Siya Day School’s elementary education program was founded upon the Zia Pueblo community’s learning and teaching principles. Our pursuit and preservation of knowledge, Tribal tradition, and community were inherited from a long line of Indigenous leaders and educators. The Zia Pueblo legacy has persevered through our holistic curriculum and continues to grow to this day.
Our first school was established in 1885 when the Bureau of Indian Affairs rented a Zia family home. This school was attended by 15 students and existed for 30 years. In 1915, a new school building was constructed on the village's west side, where we remained fully operational despite teacher shortages, a lack of transportation, and staffing inconsistencies. Then tragedy struck twelve years later when our school burned down; however, within two years it was rebuilt and school was back in session.
T’Siya Day School was reconstructed with one large room, two classrooms, and living quarters for teachers. The Zia Pueblo community embraced our mainstream day school for its continual teaching of Tribal leadership. By 1957, a local public school was established that began to impact enrollment at T’Siya Day School. However, in 1980, Principal Gilbert Lucero (former Zia Governor) proposed adding a new middle school.
In 2000, we broke ground on a new T’Siya Day School building with a beautiful sundial structure in the courtyard patio modeled after Fajada Butte’s Sun Dagger at Chaco Canyon. During the summer solstice, a light ray shines through the two pillars and matches up with a walkway.
T’Siya Day School’s educational programs foster the growth of our Zia Pueblo community’s language, tradition, and culture, while our students (our Suns) represent the bright future of our Pueblo community leaders.
Photo on right: Zia Pueblo in the late 1880s, By John K. Hillers, 1843-1925, Photographer (NARA record: 3028457) - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17208643
