In the 1860s, Fort Sumner, New Mexico, was the center of a million-acre land parcel known as the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. During that era, the U.S. Army used scorched-earth policies to forcibly remove 10,000 Diné (Navajo) and Ndé (Mescalero Apache) people from their traditional homelands and confine them to this isolated outpost along the Pecos River. Hundreds of men, women and children were killed during the journey, and an estimated 1,500 subsequently died from starvation, disease and acts of brutality committed during their internment at Bosque Redondo. Treaties signed in 1868 and 1873 enabled the return of the survivors to their homelands, and the state of New Mexico eventually acquired and repurposed the Fort Sumner property into a historical site focusing on army operations and Billy the Kid. It did not address the indelible marks on the Diné and Ndé people.
That began to change when a group of Navajo youth challenged site administrators in 1990. Rangers came upon a folded piece of notebook paper tucked into a rock shrine. The letter said, “We find Fort Sumner’s historical site discriminating and not telling the true story behind what really happened to our ancestors,” and asked, “Why don’t you tell our story?” That letter changed the trajectory of the site and marked the beginning of a process through which the state would seek to reframe its relationship with Diné and Ndé people.
Detail from The Long Walk mural by Navajo artist Shanto Begay. Image courtesy of the Bosque Redondo Memorial and the artist
The Bosque Redondo Memorial is one of eight New Mexico Historic Sites managed by the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. After a number of false starts and abandoned plans, a long-term consultation process was adopted for Bosque Redondo—one that centered Diné and Ndé worldviews and the experiences of individuals imprisoned at Fort Sumner. Elders, tribal leaders and tribal historians joined with site managers and interpretive designers to envision a new Bosque Redondo Memorial that could be a place of education, reckoning and healing. Planning was facilitated by individuals with expertise in Native history, sacred sites and cross-cultural work. The 150th anniversary of the treaty signings served as a catalyst to engage descendants and deepen relationships. The majority of funds were secured from the state as well as some federal grants. Listening, flexibility, patience and the ability to extend the use of funds over multiple fiscal years were essential. Although the slow process was at times a point of frustration, it allowed for trust to be built and for collaboration to take root.
Detail from the Bosque Redondo Memorial exhibit. Photo courtesy of the Bosque Redondo Memorial
The new Bosque Redondo Memorial building, designed by Navajo architect David Sloan, is built in the shape of a hogan and a tepee. Inside, the exhibit tells a complex and vivid story. Visitors immediately encounter the original letter from the visiting youth. More than 10,000 fiber optic light bundles, each one representing a Diné or Ndé individual who was imprisoned at Bosque Redondo, create a map of the journey. Through words (in Diné, Ndé and English), images, sound recordings and artifacts, the exhibit describes the forced marches, daily life during internment, the signing of treaties and the struggles that the imprisoned experienced after their release—experiences that continue to reverberate today.
The exhibition has received accolades—including being named as an International Site of Conscience—and is a focal point for education about Native history in the southwest. Descendants of survivors and soldiers alike travel to visit the memorial, which offers itself as a place not only for learning and grieving but also as a symbol of strength and resilience.
The memorial uses arts activities in a variety of ways, to encourage community engagement and educate visitors about the natural and cultural history of the site. “Art, in all of its forms, is such an important avenue for storytelling at the Bosque Redondo Memorial, especially when words are not enough to depict the harsh reality that was the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation in the 1860s,” says Aaron Roth, regional manager.
To this end, several artist residencies have occurred at the site. The state arts agency, New Mexico Arts, sponsored Diné Artists DezBaa’ and David Henderson for artist residencies at the memorial in 2023. They used the opportunity to create a documentary film, Through My Eyes: Reflections on Bosque Redondo. The project facilitated connections among community members, Diné medicine people, historians and memorial staff. The film went on to become an LA Skins Fest official selection and was part of the Native American Media Alliance‘s Unscripted Workshop for 2023. In addition, New Mexico Arts and New Mexico Historic Sites collaborated to support Dakota Mace, Diné, to be an artist in residence and lead a collaboration with a group of graduate students. Collaborators included Daisy Trudell-Mills (born of Santee Dakota, Mexican/Euro-American and Jewish descent), and Kéyah Keenan Henry, Diné. The team presented Naaldeeh, a multidisciplinary, mixed-media exhibition exploring the importance of place and how that is defined for Indigenous people. Artworks were made with natural materials including indigo, cochineal, corn pollen and red soil.
For more information about the Bosque Redondo Memorial’s tribal engagement strategies, contact manager Aaron Roth.