After a year of public discussions, engagement and cultural events, Artful Life LLC presented its final CHART reportWednesday night to the Santa Fe Governing Body.
CHART, which is an acronym for Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation, and Truth was conceived in response to the destruction of the historical Soldiers Monument obelisk at the Santa Fe Plaza on Indigenous People’s Day in 2020.
The study was designed to address the issues and racial tensions connected to the incident and what to do with the monument.
The city contracted with Artful Life, a New Mexico-based arts and community development organization to moderate the process and produce the 246-page report.
Artful Life co-director Valarie Martinez told the Mayor and Councilors there are 52 recommendations included in the report to address the needs of the community.
There were no votes Wednesday night connected to the report, but several residents did address the Governing Body in reaction to the release of the findings.
Some comments by both Councilors and the public became heated at times because they were looking for more conclusive recommendations regarding the future of the Soldiers Monument.
Mayor Alan Webber encouraged the community to read the report before drawing any conclusions. He announced the Governing Body will be holding a special working session to discuss the CHART final report in the next few weeks and that more meetings may be scheduled.