July 10, 1998
(Editors note: The Chicano, Mexican-American experience is expansive and
to understand who we are it is important to read about this experience from all
aspects. Towards this end we are reprinting the New Mexico perspective, the
birth of the Chicano/a people. Reprinted from "Voces Unidas," South-West
Organizing Project, Volume 8, Number 1, May 1998.)
Originally published in La Prensa San Diego.
1998 marks three important anniversaries that are significant for Nuevo Mexicanos and other, not only in the United States, but throughout the world.
400 years ago in 1598, Juan de Oņate led an expedition into New Mexico and set up the first permanent foreign colony in the present day U.S.
150 years ago in 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed between the U.S. and Mexico. The U.S. had invaded Mexico with the goal of expanding its territory. The Treaty resulted in Mexico losing half of its country to the U.S. The Treaty also guaranteed certain rights for Mexican citizens in the U.S. Southwest and also included the indigenous people of the area.
100 years ago in 1898, the U.S. continued its expansionism throughout the world. It had waged war against Spain and took over several Spanish colonies. These included Puerto Rico, Cuba, Guam, the Philippines and also marks U.S. control in Hawaii.
This special insert will focus on the 400th anniversary of the Spanish colonization and subsequent U.S. colonization of what is now known as the U.S. Southwest. In New Mexico this 400th anniversary has raised much controversy over how we will commemorate this anniversary. There are some people who glorify Juan de Oņate, despite the atrocities he inflicted on Pueblo Indians.
A majority of people however, do not want to focus this anniversary on Oņate, but rather to commemorate the first permanent contact and mixture between indigenous peoples in the present day U.S. and Europeans.
Why should we celebrate the 400th Anniversary of the first Spanish settlement of New Mexico? 1598 marks the first permanent settlement in the present day United States by Europeans. In New Mexico this was the beginning of the mixture of Spanish and Indian blood. This marks the birth of the Chicano/a people.
This event has stirred up many feelings amongst New Mexicans regarding the colonization of New Mexico. One side feels that we should celebrate Oņate and his role in conquering New Mexico and build memorials to him. Another side, including SWOP, believe that we should not commemorate a bloody butcher. A statue of Oņate at the Oņate Center near Espaņola, N.M. was vandalized. Someone cut off one of the feet of Oņate in retaliation for Oņate's barbaric act of cutting off a foot from over 25 Acoma Indians in the sixteenth century. Here in Albuquerque, many people and organizations are working to keep the City from building a statue to Oņate. Instead, we believe that a statue commemorating the mixture of peoples is more appropriate.
Some people wish to forget that if the Pueblo Indians had not assisted the Spaniards with food, clothing, and knowledge in irrigation and housing, the Spaniards would never have been able to survive in New Mexico. The settlement of New Mexico was not a peaceful, benevolent mission by Juan de Oņate and the Spaniards/
There are people who now are attempting to revise history. They want us to believe that Oņate came to New Mexico and "saved" the indigenous people and brought in prosperity and good will. They were conquistadores, conquerors. The Spaniards came in for god, glory and gold, and not in that order. They forced the Pueblo Indians to give them food, they occupied Indian lands, they enslaved, tortured and killed hundreds of Indians, and attempted to destroy native religious beliefs and practices.
People have a right to struggle and fight against such oppression. When the Pueblos fought back against this injustice, the Spaniards retaliated with even more cruelty. We know that in 1599 Oņate led forces against the Acoma people, killing hundreds of men, women and children and cut off one foot of all men over the age the age of 25 years. Some say that Oņate was a founding father of New Mexico. The founding fathers and mothers of New Mexico were the indigenous people who had been here for thousands of years. For his atrocities against the native peoples, Oņate was found guilty of crimes by the Spanish crown and was banished in humiliation.
Again, some people argue that Europe, in those days was a cruel and harsh place and that Oņate's actions were a common occurrence in warfare. The Pueblo Indians did not start a war with the Spaniards, it is the Spaniards who came to colonize and exploit the Pueblo Indians. We cannot condone the cruelty, atrocities and genocide by the Spaniards in those days, just as we cannot condone those practices by Hitler in the 1940s, nor can we condone those practices today.
This is why we oppose using public money to build a monument in honor of Oņate. Oņate was, simply put, a bloody butcher and a murderer. Instead, we support a monument that commemorates the historical event of 1598, when the indigenous people and Europeans first met, beginning a history of 400 years of working together and intermingling of cultures. It has not always been a history of equality and justice, but we strive and work towards that equality and justice.
That 400 years of history does not stop this year, it continues. We must continue to work for mutual respect and trust between all New Mexicans. It is for that reason that the SouthWest Organizing Project works with Native Americans, Chicanos and other New Mexicans to protect the sacred sites in the Petroglyph National Monument and that is why we strongly oppose the building of a road through the Monument that would violate the integrity of those sacred sites.
The following history was provide by Roberto Mondragón and Georgia Roybal of As-pectos Culturales, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Juan de Oņate was the son of Cristóbal de Oņate who helped Cortés conquer Mexico. He was born in 1550 in Mexico city. He was born in 1550 in Mexico City. He was married to Isabel Tolosa Cortés, the granddaughter of Cortés and great-granddaughter of Moctezuma, the Aztec leader. The king of Spain asked for bids to mount an expedition to settle New Mexico. Oņate offered the highest bid. In exchange he was granted the title of Governor and Captain General for two generations (for himself and his son Cristóbal.)
They left Santa Barbara on January 26, 1598. By July 11 they had arrived at a place called "yunque owinge" (the place where the mockingbird sings) by the Pueblo Indians who lived there. The expedition built their settlement there and named it San Gabriel. Three years later the Indians moved across the river and their new home was called San Juan de los Caballeros.
On one of several expeditions sent out by Oņate, they passed through Tiguex, the land of the Zunis, and got as far as the land of the Hopis. Oņate's nephew Juan de Zaldivar led a party to Acoma to ask for supplies. Zaldivar and twelve others were killed by the Acomas. Zaldivar's brother led another party of 60 soldiers to Acoma and attacked. The battle lasted three days even though the Council of the Indies prohibited war against the Indians. Six hundred Indians survived out of the 2000. Some were taken prisoner and were moved to Santo Domingo Pueblo. Oņate also cut off the left foot of all men over age 25. All persons 50 and under became slaves for 20 years.
A group of Spanish settlers formed to complain about the living conditions and 80 families decided to desert the colony before Oņate's return from an expedition to Kansas. Oņate was removed from power for his misdeeds by the Council of the Indies. He resigned and named his 16 year old son Cristóbal to the post. However, his son was rejected in favor of Juan Martínez de Montoya. Juan de Oņate was ordered back to Mexico City.
On the return journey, there was a battle with Indians south of Socorro, N.M. Oņate's son, Cristóbal was killed in the battle. In Mexico City, Oņate was judged on 30 counts and found guilty on 12 which included having deceived people about the riches they would find, not giving the missionaries what had been promised and the he had been too severe in his punishment of the Indians at Acoma. He was fined, stripped of his titles and banned from Mexico City for four years. He was never allowed to return to New Mexico.
Oņate went to Spain to appeal his case. He became an inspector of mines in Spain. It is believed that he died there in the year 1630.
The following statement by Conroy Chino was presented this year at the Cuarto Centenario Inauguration, which is a statewide commission to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Spanish settlement. Chino is from Acoma Pueblo.
It's not easy standing here before you as part of the Cuarto Centenario. A part of me wants to concentrate on where we are now, where we are today. A part of me wants to commemorate the blending of our cultures, the blending of our races; it wants to recognize our struggles, our achievements and successes; it wants to recognize all of our contributions to the four centuries of survival.
But a big part of me doesn't want to forget the past. Remembering that, before there was a blending of races, there was warfare and bloodshed. Before there was blending of cultures, there was lingering hostility, doubt, and disdain for one another.
It's not easy confronting the unpleasant truth about our collective past. It's not easy confronting the dark side of New Mexico's history. It's not easy recalling the cruel acts of conquerors, or recalling that indigenous people in America have always been viewed as uncivilized, unholy, and unworthy of human dignity.
No one should forget what happened to the Native people of this state. No one should discount the heavy loss of life in the first hundred years of European contact. No one should gloss over the atrocities that occurred as a result of military might or missionary zeal. No one should forget that the monumental churches seen in our pueblos were built on the backs of Indian people. No one should forget that the early colonists survived in part because of a system that demanded food, furnishing, the fruits of our labor, taxing our own efforts to survive.
While we acknowledge and admire the courage of early Spanish settlers who traveled great distances to establish new homes and new communities in New Mexico, let's not forget that this land was occupied by groups of indigenous people long before any European set foot on this land. When the Spaniards arrived, these tribal groups had sophisticated irrigation systems in place for farming that captured the fascination of early explorers. Pueblo people had domesticated animals, raised crops, and lived in Spiritual harmony with the land. They had sovereign governments in place, religious beliefs and ceremonies in motion, and communities firmly constructed in places like Acoma.
In four centuries we have undergone a racial blending, a convergence of worlds, a cross over of cultures. The result has been a set of common bonds. We do share the same respect for the land, we do value tradition, language, religion, and culture, we do share the same love of family and respect for our elders. But we are more than just friends and neighbors. Some of us are connected because of a union between a Spanish father and a Pueblo mother. I ask you not to forget your indigenous past. I ask you not to dismiss your native roots.
While we commemorate who we are, where we are and how far we have come in four centuries, I suggest that the Cuarto Centenario become a recognition of human dignity, a celebration of the human spirit. It should not revolve around one historic figure whose deeds or misdeeds have brought about so much divisiveness... rather, we should use this time to draw on one another for emotional support, bridge our worlds, and replenish that spiritual bond between us. Let's put aside our differences and work toward forging better relations, a better society, a better New Mexico. We may have been enemies four hundred years ago, but now, our only enemies should be racism, prejudice and ignorance.
I leave you with some closing thoughts. There is strong evidence that we, as Indian people, do possess an unconquerable ancestral spirit-an unwavering inner strength that no one can ever claim victory over or eliminate. Our uniqueness as a race combined with our tenacious ability to survive, to maintain our existence and our rich heritage merits every ounce of recognition.
We are here today, despite the pain and the perils of the past, remembering only the goodness in life, the sacredness and beauty of our land, the nobility of our people and the power in our songs and prayers. We look forward to the future with the hope that these following tenets for harmony will transcend time.
We ask to you to respect others....
We ask for respect from others...
We ask not to be forgotten...
We ask to be heard...
We ask to be heard...
We ask to be understood...
We ask to be treated with fairness and with dignity.
Finally, the Zia symbol on our state flag is a very appropriate symbol for New Mexico. The four lines coming from the circle in the middle represent the four major groups of people, black, brown, white, and yellow. The circle in the middle connects us all. We are all united. We are all connected because, after all, we are all human.
Other articles republished from La Prensa San Diego
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