“To the Heroes who have fallen in the various battles with ______ Indians in the Territory of New Mexico.”
We saw this plaque with the word removed on the monument in the Plaza in Santa Fe last week.A little bit of research showed that the missing word was “savage.” It was chiseled off by an unknown man in 1974. Later someone else wrote in “Courageous”
Read a lot more of this story in a Santa Fe New Mexican article. Both history and life are complex. But it is always wrong to call adversaries “savage” so I support removing the word. I’m generally opposed to defacing anything. Last year I wrote about the statue of Judge Taney in Annapolis. I had stronger feelings about removing it.
Maybe the answer is to add a new side to the statue honoring the Indians who fell defending their territory and their way of life. And leave the chiseled out mark there to show that progress is being made.
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Interesting story about that monument– It reminds me of a cartoon. It was 2 Native Americas on their horses at Plymoth Rock in 1620, watching as the Mayflower unload its passengers. One turned to the other and said “I think we need a more comprehensive immigration policy”