White] THE PUEBLO OF SIA, NEW MEXICO 85 
In 1957 the Sia had 350 acres of land per capita, or 1,400 acres per 
family of four. But only a small portion of this can be cultivated; 
the greater part is classed as grazing, and a considerable portion is 
simply waste. In 1936, for example, according to the United Pueblos 
Agency, 221 acres were irrigated, 15,055 were grazing lands, 2,108 
were waste, and 129 acres were idle. As a matter of fact, the Sia 
appear never to have hadjas much as 2 acres of irrigated, cultivated 
land per capita since the keeping of records began; in 1936, for example, 
they had only 1.09 acre per capita. Other dates and figures are: 
1900, 142 acres, cultivated (Rep. Com. Ind. Aff. 1900, p. 293); 1930, 
340 acres, irrigated (U.S. Senate, 1932, pt. 19, p. 9888); 1944, 312 
acres, ‘‘agricultural’”’ (Aberle, 1948, p. 84); and 1957, 227 acres, 
irrigated. 
In 1776, Fray Dominguez noted that there were some arable lands 
in the little cafiadas both north and south of Sia, and “‘the Indians 
. . have farm lands for a league upstream and a league downstream 
along the river... . The land in the small cafiadas is always depend- 
ent on rain. Those along the river are watered from it when the 
rains are heavy; when they are not, there are difficulties. In view of 
this and because the said lands are very sterile, so little is harvested 
that when things go well, they make the most of that year” 
(Dominguez, 1956, p. 175). 
IRRIGATION 
Stevenson (1894, p. 11) states that the Sia had ‘considerable 
irrigable lands” in the 1880’s, ‘“‘but a meager supply of water’’ because 
upstream Mexican towns and the Pueblo of Jemez took most of the 
water, leaving little for Sia. In the 1950's the Jemez River was still 
the sole source of water for irrigation, but by the last of June or the 
early part of July the flow is so diminished that its water cannot be 
diverted for use. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has done much to 
improve the irrigation system; by 1952 it had constructed 12 canals 
and main ditches and a reservoir of 50 acre-feet capacity. Figure 11 
(facing p. 96) shows the location of the river, the reservoir, and the 
irrigated lands. 
The irrigation system in operation in 1952, according to a study 
made by the United Pueblos Agency, was inefficient and wasteful. 
Much water was wasted by seepage in the numerous ditches needed 
to service a host of small, individually held plots. Many of the 
tracts were not adequately leveled, which means that much water 
ran off during heavy irrigation, carrying tons of precious topsoil 
with it. In other places, irrigation water accumulated, raising the 
water table, and causing accumulations of salt that made growth of 
crops impossible. 
600685—62——7 
