The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 is a historic event that is little
known to most Americans unless they live in specific regions
of the Southwest. Ortiz grew up hearing stories of the revolt
from many Pueblo elders and historians. He was bewildered
that hardly anyone seemed to have heard of it as he traveled
around the United States. Yet, when he would travel
overseas, it was part of the cultural history, and people
would question him about it.
Watchman/Dorn, a part of the Pueblo Revolt series, is a
figure in Ortiz's visionary pantheon. This figure wears a
satellite-type receiver as a headdress to communicate with
his people through time. In a brilliant parallel, Ortiz
manages connect his Cochiti home and heritage with a
shared—yet as of now unknowable— human future.