Nestled next to Santa Ana Casino Resort are the remains of the Kuana Pueblo. Once occupying the land of the Rio Grande Valley, Kuana’s ruins are back dropped by Santa Ana’s golf course. The juxtaposition of Coronado State Monument next to a Native American reservation casino resort is the most telling exhibit in all of the state attraction.
The walk through the ruins is littered with the sterile quotes of Spanish explorers like, Pedro de Castanedo. On one of the plaques lining the walk his impassive words describe his observations of the Tiquex Province:
Tiguex is a province of twelve pueblos on the banks of a large and mighty river. Some of the pueblos are on one bank some on the other. It is a spacious valley two leagues wide. To the east there is a snow-covered sierra, very high and rough.
However, they are followed with further explanation:
At first, the Tigua people welcomed the visitors and submitted to their demands for food, shelter, and clothing. However, demands of the army became unbearable. The Tiguas staged a desperate revolt against the Spanish invaders in the winter of 1540-41. The results were disastrous for the pueblo people. Two villages were destroyed and many of the people were killed.
What strikes me here is yet another juxtaposition, the juxtaposition of the sterile quote with the description of the demise of the people once inhabiting this land. The enthymeme left is the impression that these explorers approached interaction between the pueblo people without concern for their culture. They were a dispensable resource providing aid in their exploration of the new land.
So, as I look over the almost nonexistent ruins camouflaged by the dirt, plants, and brush that surround it, the Santa Ana Casino and golf course take full view. The juxtaposition a visual enthymeme speaking to the attempts to rape, plunder, and kill the Native American people and their culture.
No comments:
Post a Comment