Works-in-Progress Seminar with Prof. Ana Pulido Rull, U of Arkansas

This Works-in-Progress Seminar explores Indigenous tribute records created in the mid-sixteenth century by tlacuiloque (Indigenous artists) from towns in the Basin of Mexico. Painted on amatl (fig-bark paper), these long pictorial manuscripts (known as tiras) are part of the Spanish Colonial Manuscript Collection (Conway) at the Helmerich Center for American Research.

The presentation examines how these visually rich records document the labor, goods and personal service demanded of Indigenous communities under Spanish colonial rule, while also functioning as tools of resistance. Used as legal evidence in colonial courts, the tiras enabled Indigenous towns to challenge excessive tribute demands and negotiate reductions through formal legal proceedings. Special attention is given to the distinctive features of HCAR’s collection, including rare depictions of Indigenous artists and the portrayal of books and paper as tribute, as well as differences between tributes mandated by law and those represented in the pictorial records.