The Red Nation’s campaign against Spanish colonial monuments raises serious questions about historical revisionism, political influence, and Deb Haaland’s vision for New Mexico.
By Roger Rael
The Raton Range
New Mexico has a complicated history. It is a history of Indigenous civilizations, Spanish exploration and settlement, Mexican independence, American expansion, and generations of families who built their lives in this remarkable state.
No single political movement, ethnic community, or organization owns it.
Yet the growing campaign against Spanish colonial monuments and historical commemorations raises an important question: When does correcting historical injustices become an attempt to dictate which parts of New Mexico’s heritage deserve public recognition?
The Red Nation has made its position clear. Its activism has challenged the public celebration of Spanish conquistadors, opposed the commemoration of Juan de Oñate and Diego de Vargas, and demanded changes to public symbols and historical traditions.
The organization describes its political philosophy in explicitly anti-colonial terms. Its activities are not limited to academic discussions about history. They include organized protests and campaigns targeting public monuments, commemorations, and institutions.
The history of Spanish colonialism deserves honest examination. The atrocities committed against Indigenous communities, including the 1599 Acoma Massacre, should never be excused or forgotten.
But New Mexico’s history has another side that deserves equal recognition.
The descendants of Spanish settlers helped establish the communities, traditions, language, agriculture, churches, and cultural institutions that became central to northern New Mexico. Their heritage is not a historical inconvenience to be discarded because modern political activists find certain historical figures offensive.
A monument can be removed. A historical seal can be redesigned. A reenactment can be discontinued. But those decisions do not make the history disappear.
And they should not become an excuse to marginalize the heritage of another community.
This brings us to Deb Haaland and the political coalition surrounding her gubernatorial ambitions.
Haaland should be asked directly where she stands on The Red Nation’s campaign against Spanish colonial monuments and commemorations. If she supports its objectives, voters deserve to know precisely which ones. If she disagrees, she should say so.
New Mexicans should not have to guess what their prospective governor believes about preserving the state’s complete historical identity.
The issue is bigger than a statue. It is about historical representation, public institutions, and whether New Mexico can acknowledge the wrongs of its past without politically diminishing the cultural heritage of its Hispano population.
New Mexico belongs to all its people. Its history, including the uncomfortable chapters, belongs to all of us.
Nobody has the authority to erase inconvenient chapters simply because they conflict with a preferred political narrative.
History should be examined, challenged, and taught. It should not be selectively remembered.
New Mexico’s history is not a political possession. And no organization, political candidate, or government has the right to claim exclusive ownership of it.
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