Does a statue speak? What does it say, and to whom? To whom does the statue belong? These are questions raised by new twists and turns adding to the seemingly endless, enchanting story of the Oñate statue. While there is still much to be learned about events at the county complex last week, two things stand out. First, the intended but postponed ceremony–to take the statue out of hiding and relocate it at the county complex–was hijacked by people outside of the Española valley, for purposes only marginal to the presence of a statue. The statue, for some of the demonstrators, provided a cover for a dramatic, attention-grabbing event furthering political agendas outside of Española.
Law enforcement officials, including the FBI and the Sheriff’s department, were aware that people far from Española, some representing extremist organizations, had arrived as early as Monday to prepare for the intended ceremony on Thursday. How these activities were funded is not clear. But some organizers were armed with guns. That’s why the ceremony was postponed. In spite of the postponement, organizers proceeded to continue plans for a protest demonstration. Out of a crowd on Thursday of perhaps 50-60 persons, witnesses on the scene estimate that only 15-20 were from Española. Neither the shooter nor the victim is from Española. The shooter wore a MAGA hat. Living in Sandia Park, only 23 years old, he has a record as a provocateur going back to 2018, when he sent out a threatening tweet against the Federal Reserve Bank, provoking a visit by the FBI. The victim, on the other hand, was on his way to an environmental conference when he heard about the statue controversy and decided to join what he seemed to know would be an occasion for protest.
The relationship between members of The Red Nation who were present at the event and natives in the Española valley is unclear. Founded by graduate students at UNM, an article in The Nation (a left-leaning magazine unrelated to Red Nation) describes the organization as: a leftist collective committed to revolutionary socialism, anti-imperialism, and queer Indigenous feminism in the pursuit of Native liberation. After demonstrators tore down the obelisk in the main square in Santa Fe in October, 2020, members of Red Nation headed to Alcalde to protest the Oñate statue, resulting in the removal of the statue by county officials at that time.
A second turn in the story, this one part of the local agenda, is the revelation that the chairman of the county commission, Alex Naranjo, ordered the relocation of the Oñate statue last Thursday without consulting the other two county commissioners. Given that the Oñate statue has been a source of controversy for many years, relocating it to the county complex was bound to arouse previous tensions to the surface, if not from local citizens, surely from the types of groups described above. That the decision to do so was made without a vote of the commission may well have been illegal; as a minimum, it was not a fully authorized decision. Shouldn’t the decision have been vetted by the other commissioners, and only after ample opportunities for public discussion? Alex Naranjo’s district includes Ohkay Owingeh; shouldn’t tribal citizens and leaders have been asked to provide a point of view before making a decision? The proof is in the pudding. Failure to determine public and official views resulted in an embarrassing, violent incident that hurt the image of the county.
But public hearings and commission votes are not the only way to deal with a complex and emotional issue. Many institutions in New Mexico have experience in dealing with controversial subjects. Colleges and universities have the facilities and experience to hold forums in which major relevant parties are asked to comment, in civil dialogue, often assisted by the presence of true experts on the subject matter. Local and national foundations know how to do this, and many are willing to fund the costs incurred in doing so. The New Mexico Humanities Council, funded through the National Endowment for the Humanities, offers generous grants to organizations wishing to explore facets of New Mexico History and contemporary society. The McCune Foundation in Santa Fe similarly has a grant program with a priority they call “building links between arts and community engagement.” Wouldn’t a full airing of the many issues surrounding the statue be something healthy for the building of stronger ties and understanding throughout the county? The Oñate statue’s presence in Rio Arriba County has stirred powerful echoes going back to 1598. It raises issues about our colonial past that go to the heart of our identities as citizens of El Norte, about relations between Pueblo tribes, Hispanos, and Anglos today. It raises issues about how best to portray the rocky contours of New Mexico history in a way that is respectful of the views of all concerned. At its best, this is what higher education, made available to all of us, is all about.
Dr. Garcia is a retired professor of politics at NMSU. He also served as Secretary of Higher Education from 2011-2015.