On Indigenous Peoples Day 2020 in broad daylight, a mob of vandals tore down the 154-year-old Soldier’s Monument in the center of Santa Fe Plaza because it was offensive to some Native Americans. Now veterans groups are demanding it be restored.
The destruction followed months of controversy that was notable for its absence of historical fact. Nobody seemed to know the obelisk honored Union soldiers, many of them Hispanic, who died in New Mexico’s two Civil War battles. But there was plenty of vitriol directed at one word that’s been absent from the monument for 50 years.
Recently Hispanic activist Daniel Ortiz stood before an ugly wooden box covering what’s left of the monument on its 162nd anniversary. He reminded a small crowd that the missing obelisk commemorated battles at Valverde and Glorieta Pass in 1862. While Union forces lost at Valverde, the Union victory at Glorieta Pass changed the course of the war by denying the Confederacy access to western gold and silver mines.
When legislators erected the monument in 1868 they also honored soldiers who fought in the Indian wars and on a plaque used the word “savage,” which someone chiseled out in 1974.
Standing before the ugly box, historian Thomas Chavez told the crowd: “Never have I ever had a background so disgusting as this. I’m happy to be here, but I’m also a little angry.”
He observed that “people tore this monument down in a moment of emotion,” but he didn’t gloss over New Mexico’s bloody history – the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, the Spanish Reconquest in 1692, the invasion by Texas confederates during the Civil War. “We’ve had our conflicts,” he said, but we can get over it. “I say to the mayor, get over it. Put the obelisk back up. It commemorates the fall of men defending this territory.”
Many of the fallen were Hispanic soldiers, hence the pronounced presence of Hispanics in the crowd.
Mayor Alan Webber tried to placate critics, promising to remove the monument. It didn’t happen. He tried to negotiate with protesters, described in media reports as the Three Sisters Collective and “non-native allies.” After the obelisk fell Webber condemned the vandalism: “We need to address the past. We don’t need to tear down the past. We need to work together. We don’t need to fight against each other.”
In 2021 the city paid a consultant $300,000 to study the issue and propose a solution. A year later came the recommendations: rebuild the monument or remove it. According to a survey, a majority of residents condemned the monument’s destruction, 33% wanted to remove the monument, and nearly 32% wanted to restore it. The Union Protectiva de Santa Fe sued to replace the monument.
Last year city councilors proposed redesigning and repairing the monument with new signage and interpretation to recognize the original Pueblo inhabitants of Santa Fe and tell the monument’s story.
Ortiz, who can trace his New Mexican ancestry back 14 generations, sees the removal of his culture from public spaces. The word “entrada” is gone from the Santa Fe Fiestas. Schools once named De Vargas have new names.
“We are in a culture war,” said Ortiz. “They’re trying to erase us.” On a recent podcast to publicize the plaza event he complained about the “woke left.” It pains me that squabbles over statues and obelisks could get dragged into the far uglier confrontations between the political left and right.
As an Anglo historian, I repeat what I’ve said before: First, history isn’t pretty. These past events shaped New Mexico and its people. Removing an obelisk doesn’t change anything, and denying recognition of war veterans is hurtful. Second, like them or not, Don Diego de Vargas and Kit Carson left their mark. Third, the monuments belong to everyone. One little group shouldn’t get to decide.
That said, Native American activists have been heard. Hispanic activists not so much. The two peoples have lived side by side for centuries. Balance is possible.