Truth and Reconciliation A New Beginning at Bosque Redondo
Several years ago, across a crowded room in Santa Fe, Mary Ann Cortese heard the sound of weeping. When Cortese, a Museum of New Mexico Regent, agreed to take part in a series of dialogues about the Bosque Redondo Memorial’s plans for a new permanent exhibition, she expected that emotions would run high. After all, the room contained a group of people with vastly different interests and backgrounds who were there to discuss a particularly painful period in New Mexico history. Seated at small tables were state Department of Cultural Affairs officials, Historic Sites staff, historical research associates, and tribal leaders from the Navajo (Diné) and Mescalero Apache (N’de) communities. Over the past three decades, their collective goal to launch a different narrative at Bosque Redondo had hit more than a few roadblocks.
