In 1992 there was a proposal to the El Paso government for a twelve sculpture public art series featuring different historical figures important to that region, including one of Don Juan De Oñate. To many people he was a natural selection to be included in the series because of the many contributions he made to the region, but to others he was nothing but a monster. He brought new crops as well as horses and many other new things with him on his explorations. He was undoubtedly a key force in shaping that region into what it looks like today. He also slaughtered almost two thousand people,
Even when he had good intentions Oñate didn’t always make good choices. In 1598 Juan de Oñate and his men killed nearly two thousand Native Americans from the Acama Pueblo in retaliation for the death of eleven of his men. They then cut off one foot from every one of the men of fighting age in the two hundred men, women, and children that he spared. Some Spanish conquistadors had very little respect for the lives of the Natives. To many of them they were nothing but savages inhabiting land that they felt could be put to better use. While many Spanish explorers and priests came to the Americas with the intention of “helping” the Natives, whether or not the Natives ended up better worse off, some Spanish did truly have the mission that they wanted to make the Native’s lives better.
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He saw no reason that he shouldn’t use these people and the death of the eleven men that were killed by the Acama Pueblo Indians as an example to