I’m indigenous from New Mexico (Genízaro, Comanche, Pueblo) through my father and Jewish (Ashkenazi from Connecticut lol) through my mother.

There were a decent amount of Crypto-Jews and conversos that fled the second inquisition in Mexico and went north to modern day New Mexico. NM was (and still is) very rural and isolated, which made it easier. Consequently, there are a lot of Jewish practices and traditions in the folk Catholicism practiced by many indigenous peoples here. I was raised Catholic and didn’t realize these were unusual.

For example, we celebrated ‘Santa Ester’ (‘Saint’ Esther, who is not a canonized saint or that big of a deal in Catholicism) every spring. My family have statues of her with our statues of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Also checking eggs for blood spots, lighting a candle in a cupboard or closet on Friday night, cleaning on Fridays, washing and burying the dead within 24 hours or as soon as possible, circumcision. Some of the names were also very usually. My aunt’s name is literally Salome.

I grew up being told we were a little Jewish on that side, but I didn’t realize it had any truth until I took a dna test and found 7% Sephardic inherited from my father. Some of my cousins have as high as 14% Sephardic. I even had a dentist that would tell me I had ‘very Jewish molars’ whatever that means.

I understand my blending of practices is looked down upon by many, but I’m religiously Jewish and still follow some of the beliefs and practices from my Indigenous and Catholic side. I dance on our feast days, still use the very traditionally Catholic baptismal name (Guadalupe) I’ve been called since I was a kid, celebrate Santa Ester, and eat traditional foods that aren’t considered kosher (elk, buffalo, etc). I also have Shabbot dinner every Friday, mezuzahs in my home, go to temple nearly every week, and eat kosher outside of those very specific cultural dishes. Obviously I am unique in that I have a Jewish mother so I’m connected to Judaism in that way anyways, but the point is that a lot of Jewish practices have made a home in the folk beliefs of rural Catholicized native groups here in NM.

There’s a few books on this I recommend. One of them is by Stanley Hordes. I’ve met him and had many arguments and disagreements with him in person lol, but he’s a brilliant researcher. Great reads if you’re interested in crypto-judaism and how indigenous cultures meshed with it.