A new tile wall mural, entitled “Reactions to Hweeldi (place of suffering),” is now open as an outdoor exhibit at Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner Historic Site. The mural is a collection of over 1,200 tiles that were created by students who have visited the site since 2007.
Bosque Redondo Memorial acknowledges the tragic events of the 1860s when Diné (Navajo) and Ndé (Mescalero Apache) people were forcibly removed from their traditional homelands and interned at Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation. The Memorial strives to teach people of all ages, but especially youth, about this dark chapter in U.S. and Indigenous history in a way that is age-appropriate, engaging, and honest. The tile mural is a collaborative art piece that is a result of this effort.
“For these students, art has become a way to express their feelings when words are inadequate,” Aaron Roth, Bosque Redondo Memorial Site Manager, said.
Mary Ann Cortese, president of the Friends of the Bosque Redondo Memorial, spearheaded the creative tile project in 2007 as a special reflective outreach program for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students who visited the site. After student groups toured the memorial, they would be guided through a reflective exercise by either the Friends group or site staff, expressing their thoughts and feelings artistically onto the tiles, reflecting what resonated with them when learning about this difficult history. Students used pencil or colored sharpie markers to create drawings and designs onto the tiles, which were then covered with a sealant glaze for outdoor preservation.
“The tile project began as an opportunity to allow visiting students to express their experience at Bosque Redondo, after touring the site,” Cortese said. “We realized many young people could not articulate, in words, the feelings that the story of the site brought forth. However, each one could draw a symbol or phrase that would allow them to ‘be heard.’ The tile project continues to provide a permanent space that allows ownership, even in a small way, that their opinions matter.”
Since the project started, more than 3,000 ceramic tiles have been created, and more than half of those tiles have now been installed onto a 12-foot-high and 63-foot-long outdoor wall to create the mural. In August of 2023 a $60,000 special appropriation for outdoor exhibits was allocated by the state legislature that allowed for the completion of the project. Installation began in October with the help of a historic preservationist and multiple Bosque Redondo Memorial staff.
Bosque Redondo Memorial and the Friends group plan to continue this youth outreach program, and the site has another 1,500 tiles in reserve that will be installed in other locations around the site to continue highlighting the contributions of young people.
Staff Report
