Use past to tell stories that heal | My View | santafenewmexican.com - Santa Fe New Mexican

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An African proverb states: Until the lion learns to speak, it’s the hunter who tells the tale. It is more than time for the lion to speak.

Those whose peoples have experienced centuries of trauma, whose voices are repressed, denied, impugned or dismissed, remain traumatized until or unless they are able to find a way to speak, to tell their truths. Stories, all stories, must be told if centuries of trauma are to begin to be healed. It often takes a catastrophic event for silence to be broken.

For me, it took 80 years and a vision quest to find the courage to acknowledge and speak about the trauma I experienced for most of my life.

For centuries, in most of the United States, only one story has been told, that of the conqueror. For centuries, Native American, African American and other peoples have been murdered; lost their lands; been herded onto reservations; denied civil rights, health care and more. Now, with the obelisk in the Santa Fe Plaza torn down, there is an opportunity, the space and the time, for all stories to be told, for people to listen deeply, without judgment, censorship or commentary. There is always more than one story, and each story must be told, no matter the contradictions, the difficulties, the challenge to prevailing views of history.

It is more than time to create a monument that reflects and reveals all the stories of all the peoples who have lived in Santa Fe and New Mexico. In this time of division, Santa Fe, as a complex community, has the opportunity to show our divided country how healing is possible. We can hear the lions’ stories and honor them, knowing both the stories of hunters and the lions must be told. The stories of peoples who have lived in and around Santa Fe reflect the complexity and difference in their lived experience.

Trauma that is not dealt with doesn’t go away. It affects every aspect of one’s life, one’s choices, one’s ability to create a meaningful life. Let us honor and hear those whose stories have not been told. Let us show compassion and loving kindness by creating a monument that honors all peoples’ stories, knowing that none of us is perfect, all of us have used bad judgment at times, and yet, we have the capacity to heal ourselves, our community, our nation, by creating safe and cherished spaces for everyone to speak their truth.

Instead of punishing those who tore down the obelisk, let us act wisely and calmly. Let us use their stories and those of all members of the Santa Fe community to create a memorial that honors and commemorates the contradictions and challenges and wounds of history.

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