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In history we find things that make us feel uncomfortable, said Jon Ghahate, a Laguna and Zuni pueblo educator. “Sometimes it’s very challenging. For New Mexico it’s embedded in everything we do.”
Ghahate spoke on a panel about Don Juan de Oñate, the Colonizer of New Mexico. In 1598, Oñate led soldiers and settlers up the Rio Grande, opening the Spanish presence in the region.
The panel was the brainchild of Carol Sullivan, vice president of the Historical Society of New Mexico. In planning the society’s annual conference, which just concluded, Carol was determined to stage an informative and civil discussion. Her first two speaker prospects turned her down, afraid of more violence around a subject that’s sparked two shootings. (Disclosure: I’m on the HSNM board.)
Ghahate disputes calling Oñate controversial. “We wouldn’t call Hitler controversial because we know what he did,” he told a packed room. Because the Spanish faithfully recorded everything, we know about their treatment of the pueblos – the brutality, slave taking, and demands for food and shelter that would now be considered war crimes.
Jemez Pueblo’s Marlon Magdalena, who is instructional coordinator for the state Jemez Historical Site, explained: “Our religion is our way of life; it’s who we are. Everything around us is part of our religion.”
The Spanish interrupted daily life, Magdalena said. Pueblos could no longer practice their religion and were forced to accept the Catholic Church. Because they now had to feed unwanted guests, they could no longer trade with Utes and Navajos. Those tribes still needed the previously traded goods and began raiding. Now the pueblos depended on the Spanish for protection. Disease and starvation became more prevalent.
“Oñate – this man represents a lot,” Magdalena said. “He represents colonialism.”
Sullivan studied Oñate and found that his soldiers and settlers didn’t like him. He was neither an admirable nor a moral leader. Ultimately, he was recalled to Mexico and tried.
Moises Gonzales, an associate professor at UNM, took us to the Hispanic side of the issue and more recent developments.
In the 1920s Santa Fe, with no railroad and no industry, decided to focus on tourism. Driven by Anglo businessmen, the town began to create an image, complete with architectural style and cultural movements. John Gaw Meem’s arrival in New Mexico delivered Pueblo Revival architecture, along with new architectural restrictions in Santa Fe.
“They created the tricultural myth,” Gonzales said. “They created the Santa Fe Fiestas” and the annual De Vargas pageant and invited Hispanic and Pueblo communities to participate. “They were fascinated with Don Diego de Vargas. Oñate came later.” (De Vargas reconquered New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt.) The pageant entertained tourists and locals for decades before erupting in controversy.
In 1928 Anglos created the Spanish Colonial Arts Society, which began holding markets.
What Gonzales calls “the tension of narratives” began in the 1990s, about the same time as the statues. In Rio Arriba County, political heavyweight Emiliano Naranjo got money from the state for Oñate Center.
“It was Naranjo’s project, and he shoved it down everyone’s throat,” said Gonzales. Next Albuquerque put up an Oñate statue. “Then El Paso needs a bigger statue.” All three have provoked conflict. Hispanic identity, he indicated, is more than a pageant and some statues.
Magdalena and Ghahate asked us to respect their history and remember what they suffered, but Magdalena allows there’s more to the story. The Spanish introduced useful agricultural practices and new foods, for example. “It’s good to put it all together.”
It was a lively, civil discussion. Most members of this learned crowd knew about the pueblos’ experience, as well as Oñate’s complicated impact, but we all learned a few things. That’s the key – to maintain an open mind and keep learning.