The natives of Tierra Amarilla, a small ranch community in the Chama River Valley of northern New Mexico, are descended from Pueblo Indians and 17th century Spanish colonizers.

Though isolated for much of its existence, Tierra Amarilla has a long history of cultural fusion and conflict. The village is home to a Catholic lay brotherhood known as the Penitentes, similar to groups found in medieval Europe. Its members practice corporal penance and the reenactment of the crucifixion of Christ, unusual practices which have led to serious conflicts with both Catholic and Protestant churches and which operate outside U.S. law.

The mid-19th century saw the outbreak of the land grant conflict that has characterized much of Tierra Amarilla's recent history. Grants from the Mexican government overlapped with centuries-old grants from the Spanish crown, and when the territory became part of the United States in 1848, Anglo-American ranchers made a successful bid for the land, creating another set of competing claims. Loss of ancestral lands destroyed the base of the rural village economy, sparking episodic uprisings, most notably the Land Grant War of 1967.

To this day, the tensions, like the land claims, remain unresolved.