Some claim that a type of squash cultivated there reminded the Spaniards of the melons they knew from the Eastern hemisphere. It became known as Sandía (Spanish: ' watermelon') in the early 17th century, and possibilities abound as to why. However, older documents claim that the original name of the pueblo was Nafiat, (Tiwa: 'Place Where the Wind Blows Dust'). The Tiwa name for the pueblo is Tuf Shur Tia, or 'Green Reed Place', in reference to the green bosque ( Spanish: forest). Name The Sandia Resort and Casino, July 2008 They have a tribal government that operates Sandia Casino, Bien Mur Indian Market Center, and Sandia Lakes Recreation Area, as well as representing the will of the Pueblo in business and political matters. The people are traditionally Tiwa speakers, a language of the Tanoan group, although retention of the traditional language has waned with later generations.

The population was 427 as of the 2010 census. It is one of 19 of New Mexico's Native American pueblos, considered one of the state's Eastern Pueblos.

Sandia Pueblo ( / s æ n ˈ d iː ə/ Tiwa: Tuf Shur Tia) is a federally recognized tribe of Native American Pueblo people inhabiting a 101-square-kilometre (40 sq mi) reservation of the same name in the eastern Rio Grande Rift of central New Mexico. Roman Catholicism, traditional Pueblo religion

Sandia casino address