Officials in Santa Fe, New Mexico said about a dozen protesters of a public tribute to Spanish conquistadors were jailed over the weekend.
The pageant, known locally as La Entrada, commemorates the arrival of conquistador Don Diego Vargas in 1692. It’s part of a larger event that takes place in Santa Fe each fall.
But Native American activists see the pageant as a celebration of genocide. During the demonstration, protesters shouted things like “You’re on stolen land” and held signs that said “celebrate resistance not conquest.”
Public statues and tributes to early Spanish conquerors across the U.S. are facing mounting criticism tied to brutal treatment of American Indians centuries ago by soldiers and missionaries. Activists are drawing ethical parallels to the national controversy over Confederate monuments.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.