Solomon Bibo

Solomon Bibo (July 15, 1853 – May 4, 1934) was a German Yiddish trader in the American Old West who became governor of Acoma Pueblo, equivalent of the tribal chief.

After the suppression of the liberal government in the mid-19th century, his older brothers Nathan and Simon left for the United States in 1866; he eventually joined them, moving on October 16, 1869, at age 16.

He arrived in New York City and, after spending some time learning English on the East Coast, he moved out to meet his brothers in Santa Fe, then part of the New Mexico Territory.

[1] The survey resulted in a treaty that granted 94,000 acres (380 km2) of land, far less than the Acoma thought they were entitled to according to historical evidence.

[2] To help the Acoma people, he learned their Keresan language and he and his brother Simon wrote letters to the Department of Interior which resulted in a review of the survey in 1881.

The government surveyors, Walter and Robert Marmon, were Presbyterian missionaries and traders who had married into the rival Laguna Pueblo.

[1] Because of rising tensions surrounding these changes, and because he wanted his children to receive a Jewish education, Bibo and his family moved to San Francisco, California, in 1898.

[1] Moses on the Mesa is a short fiction film that focuses on a few episodes in the real-life tale of Solomon Bibo.