By CHRISTINE “TEENEY” BUSTOS
Española Valley

As a witness to the events of Thursday, September 28, 2023, I have come to a realization that the actions of one group can trigger events that have lasting repercussions.

I am writing this not as a Rio Arriba County employee, but as a person who spends a lot of time out in our community participating in community events.

When it was announced that the Statue of Don Juan de Onate would be placed at the County Annex, a few people called to protest. On Monday, September 25, 2023, a group of protesters calling themselves part of the “Red Nation” group held a press conference on the front entrance to the County building. What distressed me was the way they spoke on their views, among them the accusation that the people who were in favor of the statue were “white supremacists” and that they were trying to bring back “colonialism”. Thrown in was that there was no concern about the missing and endangered Native Americans. 

That evening a woman with young children showed up to set up camp in front of the concrete block that will hold the statue. She had blankets and food, planning to stay.  In the next two days, more people joined her.  They placed signs all over the concrete block and even used spray paint. The children urinated on our lawn.  Food and items were set up like an altar.

We all know what happened on the morning of what was to be the re-dedication of the statue. At the time of the shooting, there were approximately 50 people, very few who were Native Americans who were gathered in front of the concrete block that was to hold the statue. The people said they had set up an altar.  At approximately 12:10 p.m., I heard a gunshot as I was working in my office. I ran to make sure my fellow employees were safe (there were only 4 of us in the building). I saw the man on the ground who was shot and I saw a crowd of people who were now panicking. What did I do, probably not the smartest thing, but my co-worker and I ran outside to try and bring some order to the chaos. I had to help the paramedics try to get the people away from the injured man because they were crowding them, not allowing them to do their job. All in all it was very chaotic. 

 Why did this happen? It happened because the people behind the “Red Nation” saw an opportunity to advance their cause by courting publicity with their protest. They dwell on the atrocities that happened over 400 years ago. These atrocities happened on both the Spanish and Native American sides. Their hate fueled rhetoric reminded me of the protests held in the 1960’s where more often than not, the protests ended in violence. People should learn from history, not repeat it.

I can count my ancestors coming to New Mexico with Don Diego de Vargas. My family has always been associated with people from both our neighboring pueblos, honoring their beliefs. One of the major reasons I am writing this is that I saw a posting on Facebook from one of the members of the group asking the Hermanos, and others to come and pray for the Statue not to be placed. That struck me as sacrilegious being that the first tenant of any religion is FORGIVENESS.

If you didn’t know, I participated in our annual Fiestas de Española this year as I have for many years in the past. Because of threats by this same group, we were advised to hire extra security for the events. I have also chaired the Annual Electric Light Parade for the past 27 years, only missing 3 years. In light of the climate of violence, I will not be holding the parade this year. I cannot with clear conscience put the people of my community in jeopardy.