Case file · Witch trials
The 1675 Pueblo 'sorcery' arrests
In 1675 Governor Juan Francisco Treviño of New Mexico had 47 Pueblo religious leaders arrested for 'witchcraft'; three were hanged, one took his own life, and the rest were flogged until Pueblo warriors forced their release in Santa Fe.
1675 CE · 35.69, -105.94 · status: official
The account
Among those freed was Po'pay (Popé) of Ohkay Owingeh, who five years later led the Pueblo Revolt. Spanish suppression of kiva ceremonies and katsina dances was branded as a war on 'sorcery'.
The sceptical view
The 'witchcraft' label was the colonial name for Pueblo religion; the arrests are a case of religious persecution rather than of magic.