I had permission to photograph the two clinics, the new one and the old one, from the former governor of the Zia Pueblo. A Governor, as I understand it, is the head of the pueblo for one year. I saw photographs of former governors in the pueblo headquarters. Anyway, he told me the story the new clinic, that it had been a lifetime quest for him, since he was a small child.
The F G (former Governor) told me that when he was a small child that he would have to stand outside in a line, rain, snow, heat etc, waiting to go into a small one room sod building. It could only hold the doctor, a nurse and the patient it was so small. Later in the 60's, the old new clinic was built. It was a vast improvement, but very small inside, I wonder if 10 people total could fit inside it. So, from the 60's on, the FG worked at getting grants, applications, plans, and who knows what other road blocks, most likely racial prejudice against the one of the smallest, the one of the poorest, and most traditional of the pueblos. Persistence overcame power and money, and a new clinic was built last year, (2010).
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