Zuni

Zuni, called Shiwi'ma or “the Zuni way” by its speakers, is the language of the Zuni people of Zuni Pueblo in western New Mexico and is classed as a language isolate. As part of the Pueblo linguistic area it shares ejective consonants, a dual number and ceremonial vocabulary with Hopi, Keresan and Tanoan.

The Zuni have farmed maize with irrigation in the Zuni River valley since before the turn of the first millennium, towns such as Hawikuh and Halona growing out of the older Mogollon and Ancestral Pueblo cultures.

Spanish contact came in 1539, when the Zuni killed the Spanish expedition's scout Estevanico, and in 1540 Coronado stormed Hawikuh, the fabled city of Cibola. Franciscan missions followed from 1629, and in 1680 the Zuni joined the general Pueblo Revolt.