However, older documents claim that the original name of the pueblo was Nafiat, (Tiwa: "Place Where the Wind Blows Dust").

It is bounded by the city of Albuquerque to the south and by the foothills of the Sandia Mountains, a landform the people hold sacred and which was central to the traditional economy and remains important in the spiritual life of the community, to the east.

The Pueblo culture developed from 700 to 1100, characterized by its distinctive religious beliefs and practices and a large growth in population.

A descendant of a distinguished Spanish family, he was Guardian, Commissary, and Custodian of the friars in New Mexico, and was responsible for the implementation of the Inquisition in the territories under his authority.

The Spanish exacted tribute and enslaved members of the Sandía Pueblo people for labor in the building of churches and in Mexican mines.

They did not find freedom, however, as Popé and his successor Luis Tupatú exacted as heavy a tribute as the Spanish and the raiding tribes had.

By way of punishment for their insurrection, then governor of the territory, Antonio de Otermín, ordered the village, which by that time had been abandoned, burned on August 26.

In 1762, Governor Tomás Cachupín ordered the rebuilding of Sandía Pueblo (although his concern was primarily the housing of the Hopi who had found refuge there) as a buffer between the settlement at Albuquerque and the raids of the semi-nomadic Navajo and Apache.

As a result of wars with Spanish conquistadors and raids from neighboring indigenous nations, the Sandía Pueblo diminished, numbering 350 by 1748, and dwindling to 74 by 1900.

It proved difficult to establish a new republic and govern outlying territories with a history of insubordination at the same time, and New Mexico enjoyed a brief semi-autonomous period resembling the salutary neglect of the American colonies.

Zebulon Pike made note of the Sandia Mountains during his 19th century expedition, calling them the "San Dies".

The casino's amphitheater hosts many acts passing through Albuquerque, and its proximity to the state's main urban center has made it a popular attraction among gamblers.

The tribal government has educational, police, maintenance, health and human services, environmental, and economic development departments.

Today, English is the common language of the Pueblo, although it is sprinkled with Southern Tiwa and Spanish words and expressions.