CHACO CANYON is part of a story that remains alive today, according to Craig Quanchello, governor of Picuris Pueblo. The community has long affirmed its ties to those ancestral people but recently turned to DNA evidence to translate it into a language outsiders might better understand. The findings, reported in a 2025 study published in the journal Nature and co-authored by Quanchello, showed a direct matrilineal link between living Picuris Pueblo members and people buried at Chaco.
Chaco Canyon itself is a place of mystery, but for Picuris, it’s something closer to home.
This DNA just brought us home. Our ancestors already knew that, but now science just confirmed what we already knew.
There are people still walking around that have a maternal link to Chaco Canyon.
It was a living, breathing, praying, political community that was there for generations, and we’re just trying to do the same.
Chaco Canyon becomes a responsibility. We realize that we’re holding something that can help protect places like Chaco Canyon.
I’m not saying that Picuris is against drilling or against economic development or against using resources, but there’s so much land. Go somewhere else.
President Donald Trump himself thought it was a museum. Understanding that he thinks it’s a museum, it’s like, We’re not doing enough education and outreach.
As the world gets more crazy and more congested, places like this provide balance, respect.
There’s the essence of Chaco Canyon that doesn’t need to be explained.
It’s meant to be felt. The scenery is a little different, but the heart of the place is not. There’s that feeling inside of community, of culture, of tradition. That’s what we need to protect.
I like to go there and just close my eyes, say our prayers, do our way, and then feel what we feel when we do our traditions at home.