Genevieve Oswald on the Kit Carson Park renaming initiative and the American frontiersman's legacy

This episode is brought to you by the NCRTD Blue Bus. This week on "Voices of Taos," join Editor Geoffrey Plant as he talks with Genevieve Oswald, Taos town councilor and chair of the Kit Carson Park Renaming Committee. Oswald discusses the origins of the initiative to rename Taos' central green space, its progress so far, and its goals to float potential names by the end of the year. Plant and Oswald both discuss the mixed reactions to the initiative from the public, who are concerned alternately with erasing history and glorifying overly simplistic narratives. Oswald shares insight into Carson's complex legacy as a Western frontiersman who participated in carrying out the Long Walk just as Abraham Lincoln was issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. Good interpretive education, Oswald says, encourages people to make connections and have complex inner dialogues about complicated histories like Carson's. Oswald also shares her beliefs in community service and civic duty, which includes justice for all. Subscribe to the Taos NewsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.