Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber denounced the toppling of the obelisk, though he had previously supported removing it from the plaza. Others have since then filled in the blank space with the word “courageous”. It was long-criticized by Indigenous groups and other locals for an inscription on its base celebrating “the heroes who have fallen in the various battles against savage Indians in the territory of New Mexico.” In 1974, an unidentified man chiseled the word “savage” off the plaque.
The contested obelisk was erected in 1868 to honor Civil War Union soldiers. The second segment of the Obelisk, which honored soldiers who died in “battles with savage Indians,” tumbles to the ground. Two protesters were arrested after the monument was destroyed, and police are looking for more suspects. During the demonstrations, some protesters chained themselves to the base of the monument, leading to confrontations with police officers. That changed earlier this week on Indigenous Peoples Day, October 12, when a group of protesters tore the monument down with chains and ropes.īefore pulling down the obelisk, activists from Indigenous groups and their allies held a weekend-long protest at the Santa Fe Plaza. The contested obelisk at Santa Fe Plaza before it was torn down (via Wikimedia Commons)įor more than 150 years, an obelisk that celebrated the genocide of Native Americans stood at the center of a plaza in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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