There’s an online petition circulated that wants to change the name of Carson New Mexico. This follows the town of Taos changing the name of Kit Carson park to Red Willow park. This comes from the new president of the Carson Community Association, Daniel Beartrack. I don’t think it represents the whole of Carson in any way and from what I know, the CCA board hasn’t yet voted on it. It doesn’t take into account any of the communities in the Carson area like Tres Orejas who have addresses in Carson even though they are distinct communities. This means that, if it was carried out, a whole lot of residents of western Taos county would have to get new IDs with the new name and have to update their address to friends, family and everyone they did business with. Due to this pragmatic consideration, I immediately opposed this even though I’m well aware of the fact that Kit Carson was not the heroic figure he was made out to be in the mythic american history of past generations. It’s simply not the same as changing the name of a Town park, there are serious repercussions for the people who live here who were not consulted in any way about this. Changing the name of a well established community is not a trivial matter and should not be done for any kind of political ideology. It’s ultimately no different from what the Trump administration is trying to do in the name of white nationalist ideology with calling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” as a prime example.
In doing this website, I’ve chronicled a lot of local history and as an amateur historian, I also have to oppose this. The name Carson is part of the historical record of western Taos County. Changing it makes that record more opaque and confusing. It’s fine to bring up relevant facts that make someone who was regarded as a heroic figure far less than a hero and to change the narrative about him but trying to completely erase his name from our local history is a step to far. Good or bad, the man had an impact and that impact is reflected in local place names. In addition to the town of Carson, the area is referred to geographically as the Carson Mesa and the local communities that are not in Carson proper have the legal name of “Carson Estates” on all their property records. The fact that these names were chosen and that Kit Carson was regarded in the past as one of the heroic figures of the conquest of the American west along with the likes of Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone is also part of history, as is the change to a more realistic view of this man that incorporates not just the perspective of the conquering Americans but that of the conquered, the native peoples and Spanish speaking population who inhabited the area long before the United States of America even existed. That times changed and the view of the past changed with them is a good thing. History should based on facts, not feelings about those facts. The bad side of Kit Carson, that he was a ruthless man who did many cruel and inhumane things in his life, should be firmly part of the historical record but that record has to also reflect the impact he had on our local history and that he was once regarded as a sort of mythic hero which resulted in a lot of places in Taos county bearing his name.
[Updated 8-7-26 with CCA board president’s role in the proposed name change]
6 responses to “The Name of Carson”
Thank you for the information. I agree the people must decide. I am not however bothered by the inconvenience that might result in a name change. It happens. Countries have changed their names, many Rio grande pueblo nations reclaimed their original names (albeit with the latin alphabet!) which also meant the changes to all the highway signs, addresses, id’s etc. The state of Oklahoma, when honoring some past agreements, returned the eastern third of the state to the original nations who live or were forced to live there, had to fork up the bucks to change all the signs on the highways as well. It won’t change any history but the gesture was approved by the people (I am sure special interest lobbying helped too but hey, that’s how we do). I think some ships are worth going down because they were never ship worthy to being with…It’s all inconvenient when our story telling about ourselves is so biased – as it all is – but that’s a part of our personal and national karma reckoning. Let the people decide, if we actually can. Thanks again for the information. I appreciate your journalism.
Totally oppose. Good or bad Kit Carson was part of American history. The park was a different story entirely. A little bit trumpian trying to fix the past.
Hi My Name is Dustin Freyta and I’m an heir of the La Cieneguilla land grant that the colonial settler community of Carson NM encroached upon and stole.
I also own land here and currently sit on the CCA board . So your not to well informed . Daniel Beartrack is also currently president of the CCA and was elected on the basis of this name change.
I disagree that I’m not well informed, I’m a native New Mexican and land grant heir(Tome Land Grant). I know quite a bit about the history of land theft throughout our state. I oppose this name change on pragmatic grounds above all. Everyone who lives in zip code 87517 has Carson in their address and all legal documents associated with that address. It’s simply not worth the hassle it would cause for everyone in the area to have to get new IDs and addresses just because someone wants to change the name of the community for ideological grounds. I’m also on the board of our neighborhood association and it will be brought up at the next meeting. I don’t think you or the CCA board have any real legal authority to change the name of Carson and it’s very divisive to even attempt to do so. Now that I know the source of the petition, the article has been updated with that information.
Thank you all for your educative words I’ve learned a lot from what you’ve written. It’s another razor‘s edge situation where the indigenous and others feel the sting of Kit Carson and his legacy which has been painted very white in the history books and of course he is not pure or was not pure.
It’s a tough decision when in this world now people are very much feeling their worth and integrity feeling our humanness and self-worth when we live under such a regime oppressive government stifling we it’s citizens
We feel we have to get back at Mr. T. There’s just a lot going on. I have to reflect on this one for a while.
One thing that CCA could do without messing up anyone or anything is to honor a different Carson. Change Carsons instead of changing the name Carson. Like Rachel Carson, for example.
https://www.rachelcarson.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Carson
https://www.nps.gov/people/rachel-carson.htm