City of Santa Fe begins removing box around soldiers’ monument
SANTA FE, N.M. — The City of Santa Fe is removing the box around what’s left of the controversial soldiers’ monument in the plaza.
The city is up against a Jan. 19 deadline to restore the monument, ordered by Judge Matthew Wilson in a Dec. 20 ruling. The ruling also requires the city to restore the monument to “pre-2020 condition” by June 18.
The soldiers’ monument, also known as the obelisk, was built to honor U.S. Civil War soldiers who fought for the Union. However, it contained a quote honoring the “heroes who have fallen in the various battles with savage Indians.” That drew the ire of protesters who tore it down on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in 2020.
After this, the city placed a box around the remains as the city – and the community at-large – debated what to do next.
As crews remove that box, the city is taking notes on the damage.
“We’re doing the best we can at getting a lot of documentation of existing conditions before we started the process. [We’re] documenting the process we go through as we clean the place and get it ready for daylight and just helping us build records for posterity’s sake,” said Sam Burnett, the director of the City of Santa Fe’s facilities division.
A Hispanic heritage organization brought the case against the city that led to the court order to remove the box. The organization alleged the city violated state laws by using public funds to modify the soldiers’ monument without proper approval. The organization also argued the law applies to the monument because of its historical significance and place.
However, the judge ruled those protections don’t apply to the Diego de Vargas statue and the Kit Carson Obelisk. A suspected vandal toppled the Kit Carson Obelisk in 2023. The Diego de Vargas statue recently found a new home by the New Mexico History Museum and the Palace of the Governors, adjacent to the plaza.
After the city removes the box from the soldiers’ monument, they must restore the monument to pre-2020 condition or “otherwise comply with preservation laws to ensure proper maintenance” by June 18.