ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Wednesday night the Santa Fe city council got the final report from the group tasked with finding a solution to what should happen to the controversial plaza obelisk. Some councilors were unhappy with the results.
After years of research, the city’s Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation, and Truth process, or CHART for short, offered two solutions. Either put the obelisk back up with signage to address the controversy or put up something completely different.
“It seems like the recommendations that were in there are more for dialogue versus policy-making and solutions,” says councilwoman Renee Villarreal.
The Santa Fe city council passed a resolution in response to the toppling of the controversial soldiers’ monument at the Santa Fe plaza back on Indigenous People’s Day in 2020.
It was meant to address cultural issues surrounding the obelisk. Those against the monument claim it honored Civil War soldiers who killed Native Americans. Those in favor say removing it dishonors Hispanic veterans. The non-profit “Artful Life” was contracted to oversee the process. Some councilors say the recommendations aren’t good enough.
“In the CHART resolution, it stipulated that there would be recommendations provided on statues and monuments. That should have been one of the priorities of the community solutions table. They should not have had the opportunity to opt-out of that,” says councilman Michael J. Garcia.
Ultimately, the council did not make any decision on the future of the obelisk. Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber scheduled a study session between the city council and Artful Life on September 20 to give councilors more time to go over the lengthy 138-page report.
After that announcement, Councilor Garcia suggested it could take multiple sessions to fully address the report. Mayor Webber agreed.
