A year ago I wrote a commentary arguing that we should memorialize Spanish conquistador Don Juan de Oñate in museums – not with statues, school and road names, and fiestas. “Spanish culture is vital to our area,” I wrote. “Let’s celebrate it, but without glorifying a man who slaughtered Native people.”
I recently visited the 36-foot-tall statue of Oñate in El Paso, Texas that inspired my commentary. I filmed a video to show you the Texas-sized memorial that greets visitors to the Borderlands and talk about the issue again:
You can read my 2015 column about Oñate here. You can also read a response from Andy Hernández, an associate professor of history at Western New Mexico University, here.
And if the video above doesn’t work, you can watch it on YouTube by clicking here.