Adios, Kit Carson

His name is all over Taos, on one of its main roads, on the nearby national forest, on its electric cooperative and on the home where he once lived. But the name of Kit Carson, the famed scout, explorer, trapper, soldier and Indian agent, will no longer grace Taos’ centerpiece downtown park. The Town Council passed a resolution Tuesday night to change the name to Red Willow Park. “This is about trying to begin to reconcile the transgressions of the past,” council member Fritz Hahn said Wednesday. The park, named Kit Carson Park as long as locals can remember, gets its new name from Taos itself. The town’s name is derived from the Tewa word for red willow. Kit Carson, who died in 1868, is buried in the cemetery at the park. The council voted 3-1 in favor of the change after a presentation from Linda Yardley, a Native American, and Taoseños Andres Vargas, Ted Wiard and Chris Peiper. Yardley could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but Hahn summarized her sentiments. “She feels uncomfortable in the park, which is named after someone who egregiously hurt her people,” said Hahn. “We have got to heal the wreckage of the past, and Kit Carson is part of that.”...more

The past is being scalped by a present-day raider with the name of Fritz.