A:Shiwi A:Wan

  A:Shiwi A:Wan is what the Zuni people call themselves, in their language. The Zuni Tribe is considered to be one of the Pueblo Tribes that live in much of northern and western New Mexico, and yet, their language differs from all the others. The Zuni language is not classified into any language group and is considered to be an isolated language. It is not compared with any other language. Much of the language is still unwritten. In other words, it is mostly a spoken language. However, some of the tribal members are taking steps to convert the spoken portion of the language into written form.
  The other Pueblo languages are called Tiwa (or Tigua), Tewa and Towa, with Towa being the least common. The Hopi Tribe of Arizona is also considered to be a Pueblo Tribe and they are closely related to the Zuni. Many Zuni surnames and place names I have seen bear a striking resemblance to Hopi names.
  Of all of the Indian Reservations I have visited, the Zuni Reservation is one of my favorites. The Zuni are a very traditional people that cling tenaciously to the ways of their ancestors. I guess all Indian tribes are traditional, but the Zuni are even more traditional than others that I have seen or even read about. I have long had an inner desire to spend a few months doing humanitarian work on an Indian Reservation and, every time I think about this, the Zuni Reservation always comes to the forefront along with the Hopi, Pascua Yaqui and
Tohono O'odham Reservations in Arizona; Laguna, Acoma, Sandia and Isleta Reservations in New Mexico; the various Sioux Reservations in North and South Dakota; the Ysleta del Sur Reservation in Texas and a smattering of other Indian Reservations that I have researched. I guess I would also have to include the Navajo Indian Reservation, which covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, on that list since I have alot of Navajo friends and I have spent alot of time on the Navajo Reservation simply because it is so big
(about 27,000 square miles) that it is hard to travel anywhere in northern Arizona without going through at least a portion of Navajoland.