Producers Cristina Ibarra and John Valadez teamed up for seven years to explore a Texas public art project dedicated to a historical figure some call a hero and patriarch, and others call a destroyer of indigenous community in The Last Conquistador.

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The Last Conquistador uses the construction and dedication of a monument to Spanish explorer or conqueror (conquistador) Juan de Oñate as part of an examination of his legacy in the Southwest America. While supporters of the statue idolize Oñate as "the father of the Hispanic Southwest," others see him as the patriarch of enslavement and atrocity. The film raises complex questions about mestizo identity, on-going inequalities in the Southwest, the meaning of public art and the recognition of dignity and humanity of Native people.

Contact your local PBS station to see when they are carrying it.

• NAPT Press Kit Page for The Last Conquistador
  
  
• POV Page for The Last Conquistador
  
  
• Filmmaker website thelastconquistador.com
  
  
• Order the DVD at visionmaker.org

This month VisionMaker Video is celebrating indigenous song.

Robert Mirabal: Music From a Painted Cave: Mirabal's first large scale, multi-media production. This stirring performance features Mirabal with a band of world class group of Native musicians and dancers.

Check out the other title on sale this month -- Songs of the Spirit: Live from the KiMo

If you get your television signal over the airwaves, don't procrastinate to apply for a digital converter coupon.

If you live on a reservation or in a rural area. Find out more about Low Power/Translator Stations that serve those areas.