Maybe the obelisk doesn’t need to go
Like many Santa Feans, I am upset that vandals were allowed to topple the obelisk Oct. 12 and that the mayor’s June pledge to create a commission was not realized. But unlike many, I do not accept the criminal destruction of the obelisk as a fait accompli and our only choice being what should replace it. Why would we let vandals decide the fate of this important historic monument?
I wrote in June that the obelisk should be rededicated, and this is still what I believe should happen. The monument honors Union soldiers (many of them residents of New Mexico) as well as local New Mexicans who fought to save the West from the slavery-promoting Confederacy.
The offending plaque honoring those who fought “savage Indians” can be removed to the history museum with information on its historical context, or put in the archives. A new plaque of reconciliation and rededication can be installed in its place. The obelisk itself and the base can be restored.
Certainly the people of Santa Fe must decide the fate of the obelisk with public hearings by a commission and a vote by the City Council. This can be done in a spirit of harmony and collaboration among various cultures, as was the process of changing the Entrada during Fiesta de Santa Fe. That is democracy at its best.
The obelisk is an artifact of its time and place — the third quarter of the 19th century in Territorial New Mexico. This is an important period in Santa Fe, which produced St. Francis Cathedral, the Federal Courthouse terminating Lincoln Avenue as well as other noted Territorial buildings, all inspired by classic Greek and Roman architecture, symbolizing democracy and civic order. This is the context and lineage of the obelisk.
When I designed the Plaza gazebo in 2003, I was careful to create a visually quiet structure that would not dominate the historic Plaza so that the landscaped space, as well as the Palace of the Governors and the mix of historic buildings surrounding the Plaza, would retain balance and harmony. The obelisk is also such a structure. It is calm, classical and visually harmonious within its historic setting.
The historic core of Santa Fe is not frozen in time. Within the last 50 years, the giant Loretto hotel; Eldorado hotel; new county courthouse; World War II Veterans Memorial; Anasazi hotel; First Interstate Plaza Building between Lincoln and Washington Avenues; La Fonda parking garage; new county administration building; San Francisco Street parking garage; Santa Fe Community Convention Center; and the New Mexico History Museum have all been built within the historic core of Santa Fe. Most of these projects required demolition of older structures. In many ways, the town is nearly unrecognizable from what it was in 1970.
There are other, more constructive ways to honor Native Americans and make restitution. In addition to modifying the obelisk’s meaning, we can collaborate with Native Americans to create new rituals, offer public school programs, organize symposia, lectures and films, and design new sacred spaces and monuments to celebrate the history, culture and worth of Native Americans.