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THURSDAY, JANUARY 17. 2002

A sculpture of Spanish explorer and convicted criminal Don Juan de Oñate is drawing opposition from scholars and others who don't want the monument erected.

John Houser is creating the 36-foot bronze sculpture, to be located in El Paso, Texas, and to be dedicated in 2003. It will be the largest bronze equestrian statue in the world when completed.

Oñate is known among Pueblos and other tribes in the Southwest as being particularly brutal. He ordered every adult male in Acoma Pueblo be rounded up and their toes cut off because they resisted his attempts to stamp out their culture and convert them to Christianity.

The New York Times says the incident is "sketchy." The paper doesn't mention Oñate was convicted under Spanish law for human rights abuses.

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As a Sculpture Takes Shape in Mexico, Opposition Takes Shape in the U.S. (The New York Times 1/17)
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