ALCALDE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities have removed a bronze statue of Spanish conqueror Juan de Oñate in northern New Mexico amid a new wave of criticism of the memorial as an affront to indigenous people and an obstacle to greater racial harmony.
A forklift pried the massive bronze statue from a concrete pedestal to the sound of cheers. Oñate arrived in present-day New Mexico in 1598.
He is celebrated as a cultural father figure in communities along the Upper Rio Grande that trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers. But he’s also reviled for his brutality toward Native Americans.