Red paint, a cross and a $4,000 reward; Tigua statue defaced

Vandalism or a hate crime?

The reward for information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons who vandalized the Noestora Piarote Memorial located at the Ysleta Del Sur Pueblo in El Paso’s Lover Valley is now $4,000.

The statue depicting a Native American woman was splattered with red paint sometime between Saturday night and Monday morning. A cross covered in red paint was also placed learning against the statue.

“Why would someone do something like this? This is a statue honoring a woman, a hardworking woman,” said sculptor Julio Sanchez De Alba, who created the piece. “It’s just hard to express in words. It’s heartbreaking.”

Sanchez De Alba said the Tiguas inaugurated the memorial about two months ago.

The discovery was made on Columbus Day, which adds to the confusion over why this particular Native American statue was targeted. A movement to abolish Columbus Day and replace it with Indigenous Peoples Day has gained momentum in some parts of the U.S.

“I was struck by the action, the red paint. What does that mean? Why? I still have a lot of questions. Hard to explain,” Sanchez De Alba said.

An FBI spokesperson told ABC-7 the agency is investigating the incident as an act of vandalism, but not a hate crime. Without a motive and without a suspect, it’s difficult to label the vandalism a hate crime, the spokesperson said.

The FBI emailed ABC-7 the following statement:

“As soon as the El Paso FBI was notified about alleged vandalism and destruction of property involving the Noestora Piarote Memorial located adjacent to the Ysleta del Sur Cultural Center on the Tigua Reservation, Special Agents from our Civil Rights Squad immediately were dispatched to the area. Because the El Paso Police Department initially responded to the crime scene, the FBI has been in contact with EPPD and will continue to coordinate our investigative efforts with the EPPD’s Special Investigations Unit.”

It didn’t take long for people to express their anger and confusion over someone covering the statue in red paint.

Martha Vera is the honorary consul of Spain in El Paso.

“Noestora Piarote was a potter. She was born in 1849 and died in 1918. She was the epitome of the Tigua woman and someone to be very, very proud of,” Vera said.

Vera doesn’t see the connection between the statue and Columbus Day, but doesn’t think it is a coincidence. Her office and the Sociedad Cultural de España added $2,000 to the original $2,000 reward offered by the Tiguas.

A spokesman with the El Paso Police department told ABC-7 officers took the initial report Monday morning. “As far as we know, it’s just an act of vandalism,” the spokesman said.

The story quickly went viral on social media.

Joseph Shiyu’Pathu Rincon wrote on Facebook,”Our people get stronger through things like this and we stick together. They failed!”

Jesus Zroe Guerrero’s comment was: “To the Pueblo Del Sur community, El Paso would like to apologize for this outrageous and disrespectful behavior.”

And Michele Noaker added: “It makes me sad that someone can be so disrespectful towards a people and a heritage that has more than earned the right to be respected! Whoever did this obviously has a great lack of education & knowledge. For if they had any real knowledge regarding the heritage of the people this statue represents, they wouldn’t have chosen to desecrate it. They would have chosen to honor it!”

Vera has strong opinions about people defacing statues because of political opinions.

“We have to honor that because those are our ancestors, our citizens. I feel very strongly because I think when you try to erase your history and your culture, you don’t have anything to look back at,” Vera said.

Anyone with information on who is responsible for the act of vandalism is urged to call the Tiguas at (915) 859-7913.