Daybreak of the Resistance

Late Summer of the Castilian Year 1680: A firelight flickers in a crowded kiva as a group of people whisper, heads together. Po’pay has called on delegates from all the surviving Pueblos to convene in Taos for a secret meeting, and he tells them the time is ripe for the uprising. Castilian invaders have ravaged their homelands for decades, destroyed and stolen their crops, and decimated their population. If the Pueblos are to survive and keep their traditions alive, Po’Pay says, the time for action is now before they are extinguished and lost forever. But where to begin if they are to defend themselves against the murderous invaders and bring back the rain?



On August 10, the 344th anniversary of the Pueblo Revolt, Virgil Ortiz’s Daybreak of the Resistance will open at [CONTAINER] in Oga Po’geh, or Santa Fe as it is known today. Here, Po’pay and his Pueblo allies, together with the Recon Watchmen, Runners, and the Blind Archers Army, converge to defeat the destructive Castilian forces once and for all. Ortiz and collaborative artists Morgan Barnard, Jonathan Sanchez, William T. Carson, Patrick Lachman, and Alex Sokol will present the Daybreak storyline in an immersive art experience featuring never-before-seen work in clay, sculptures, paintings, and SFX projection mapping. The Resistance is coming, and it arrives at Daybreak!



What if we told you that time doesn’t have to be linear?

That the past doesn’t have to come before the present?

That the future is happening now? We can reimagine time as a navigable stream–past, present, and future flowing together.

Some Indigenous futurists call this idea “slipstream.” It’s a way to rethink our fundamental understanding of time, interconnecting people in a conversation that spans centuries—and it can leave us with new perspectives on what lies ahead.

Virgil Ortiz invites us to learn about the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 by imagining another revolt in 2180. By telling stories of the future and merging them with the traditions of his ancestors, Ortiz brings new perspectives to this history. His vision creates an unlimited future while combating the narrative that Indigenous people exist only in the past.

—History Colorado Museum, 2024


Ortiz introduces other great Pueblo allies from the year 2180 who come to the aid of their ancestors. Tahu, Recon Watchmen, Sirens, Sikas, and Gliders all travel through portals in time to protect and defend their ancestors. They share with their 1680 ancestors the knowledge and technology they’ve gained from the future, thus safeguarding their culture, language, and traditions from extinction.


“All my work is based on educating globally about the 1680 Pueblo Revolt… For over two decades, I’ve incorporated this subject matter into my work and art mediums…It is an awakening of the truth and education of our history and actual events; reviving social commentary in my traditional clay works is a recording of a timeline of past and current events.” 

–Virgil Ortiz 

Recon Watchmen

Tahu leads the Recon Watchmen back in time along a necklace of connection from 2180 that unites them with their ancestors from 1680. Battle-tested warriors, Recon Watchmen become the front line of the Pueblo resistance. Recon Watchmen covertly surveil the Earth to detect the movements of the imperialist Castilian force bent on destroying Pueblo culture. Donning helmets with Stargate crests, Recon Watchmen prevent Castilian encroachments, and protect the clay, language, and culture of their Pueblo brethren.

Elder statesman Astian of the Sirens awaits the arrival of the Survivorship fleet transporting the Recon Watchmen to Puebloan lands

Siren, 2024, clay, currently on view at the Autry Museum, Los Angeles


Sirens & Sikas

The Sirens synthesize portals for time travel, outfit the resistance members for battle, and arm the Recon Watchmen with their armor and ha’pons (war shields). In the fire caves of Cuernavaca, the Sirens fire their clay shields and weapons in temperatures over 2400º F. In their orbiting laboratory, they innovate new technologies that combine cybernetics and organic materials. Their portal technology can be used for transportation over distance and time, and their ability to connect people is unlike any other. Perhaps their most crucial role: defending all children from the perils of war by assigning each child a Sika, a half-simian, half-canine tetrapod to protect them. The bond between a Sika and a human child is unbreakable. These fluffy, horned animals migrate together in close-knit packs, and while they may look completely innocent, they are vicious hunters. The call of a Sika can strike a potent fear into the hearts of their quarry. Once they sense and smell that fear, Sikas will relentlessly chase their next meals out of hiding, sometimes gliding like flying squirrels to drop down and capture their prey.


Official trailer | Revolt 1680/2180: Daybreak of the Resistance

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