Santa Fe’s CHART Process Kicks Off Second Survey

Nonprofit Artful Life to give third quarter update this Wednesday

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In the wake of the Plaza obelisk’s toppling by activists on Indigenous Peoples Day in October 2020, Santa Fe city officials enacted a Culture, History, Art, Reconciliation and Truth, or CHART, process. CHART kicked off last year and contractors have been gathering community data for how the community moves forward and what happens next in the most famous of Santa Fe’s public spaces.

In January, we checked in with Valerie Martinez, head of nonprofit Artful Life, which is doing the work, who told SFR that CHART had already offered numerous community talk-back sessions online and in-person, as well as a web-based survey, which opened last September and recently closed. Martinez and company will present that data to the City Council this Wednesday, May 11 at 5 pm—the first in-person presentation from the nonprofit to date, and one that is open to the public.

Meanwhile, the second survey has already gone live on the CHART website. What’s included? Martinez shared a smattering of questions with SFR, including:

  • “Events hosted by the City of Santa Fe celebrate my culture(s).” (Strongly Agree - Strongly Disagree scale)
  • “The City of Santa Fe encourages visitors to understand the multicultural community of Santa Fe.” (Agree/Disagree scale)
  • “The K-12 educational curriculum needs to do a better job of teaching the complex history of Oga Po’gay/Santa Fe .” (Agree/Disagree scale)
  • “Public input should be part of the process for objecting to public monuments, memorials, and works of art.” (Agree/Disagree scale)
  • “What should be done with Soldier’s Monument (‘Obelisk’) on the Santa Fe Plaza?” (Multiple choice)
  • “Overall, I feel a strong sense of BELONGING in Santa Fe — I am accepted for who I am and community cares about my well-being.” (Agree/Disagree scale)
  • “A reconciliation process (confronting the past in order to create a healthier future) needs to be a priority for the City of Santa Fe.” (Agree/Disagree scale)

The data Artful Life culls will ultimately inform a final recommendation to the city slated for August of this year, when the nonprofit’s contract comes to its conclusion.