The story of Spanish conquistador Don Juan de Oñate, like most historical figures requires that you examine his impact from multiple points of view. Juan de Oñate viewed from the side of Hispanic Americans is that he was a fearless explorer, irreplaceable in the history of their people in the region and the building of the American West. For the indigenous peoples, Juan de Oñate was not only representative of Spain, its explorers, and all of the atrocities committed, but also for being personally responsible for the cruelty of people specifically in Acoma Pueblo. Who was Don Juan de Oñate? Intrepid explorer or ruthless conqueror? In order to get an accurate representation of history you must examine the event from all sides that are affected.
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There are even Spanish accounts of what Oñate did to the Indians and he was ultimately exiled from present day New Mexico and sent back to Spain where has was charged and found guilty of excessive cruelty against the indigenous population during his conquest north from Mexico. Yet, Oñate has historically been, and still is celebrated throughout New Mexico and other parts of the Southwest by a specific group of people who feel he represents their heritage. The statue that was built in El Paso, TX depicting Oñate, was the project of the majority Hispanic and Anglo government and pushed along by a few wealthy individuals of that wanted to commemorate a historical person that fit into their view of history, while completely ignoring or dismissing the perspective from the Native American community because it didn’t fit into their picture of
There are even Spanish accounts of what Oñate did to the Indians and he was ultimately exiled from present day New Mexico and sent back to Spain where has was charged and found guilty of excessive cruelty against the indigenous population during his conquest north from Mexico. Yet, Oñate has historically been, and still is celebrated throughout New Mexico and other parts of the Southwest by a specific group of people who feel he represents their heritage. The statue that was built in El Paso, TX depicting Oñate, was the project of the majority Hispanic and Anglo government and pushed along by a few wealthy individuals of that wanted to commemorate a historical person that fit into their view of history, while completely ignoring or dismissing the perspective from the Native American community because it didn’t fit into their picture of