Reactions to Hwéeldi Mural

ABSORBING EVEN A FRACTION of the harrowing story of the Long Walk—the U.S. Army’s forced removal of thousands of Diné (Navajo) and Ndé (Mescalero Apache) people to the Bosque Redondo Indian Reservation between 1863 and 1868—can be overwhelming. At the Bosque Redondo Memorial at Fort Sumner Historic Site, a reflection room offers visitors space to process their emotions, write in communal diaries, and leave messages on plexiglass walls. For student visitors, the memorial offers another outlet: ceramic tiles. Third graders through high schoolers can express their responses with drawings, designs, and words. The tiles are glazed and preserved, then installed on Reactions to Hwéeldi (Place of Suffering), a 12-foot-tall, 63-foot-long outdoor mural. Although officially unveiled in August 2024, the evolving project began in 2007. To date, 1,276 of the 3,000 student-created tiles have been installed. One reads, “So that others may live,” framed by a sun and distant mountains. Another says, “In beauty we walk,” beneath a woman surrounded by birds in flight. One striking image shows four figures seen from behind, facing flames. “The kids who make the tiles don’t always understand that their messages, words, and images are going to be part of something bigger,” explains site manager Aaron Roth. “But when you tell them their words are important and can have impact, they’re excited that they’re part of the story.”