How the right foot of sixteenth-century Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate came to be a part of the latest SITElines Biennial is a secret conspicuously guarded by the exhibition’s curators, but what is known about the appendage grants a revealing illustration of the thrilling noir that enfolds an object—or person, for that matter—when it enters the museum. The story begins 420 years ago on the Acoma Pueblo in what is today northern New Mexico. A dispute had erupted between the Acoma and members of the Spanish guard, leaving Oñate’s nephew dead. The colonial governor’s retribution was brutal: he ordered the mass enslavement of the Acoma and a foot cut off each man over the age of 25. Ironic, then, that a statue celebrating Oñate would be erected in 1993 at a visitor center dedicated to the area’s indigenous heritage. A local community claiming Spanish ancestry was responsible; four years later, a group calling itself the Friends of the Acoma cut off the statue’s right foot to protest the ongoing occupation of indigenous lands. Few have been permitted access to the original foot since. Just like the statue’s initial provocation, the inclusion of Oñate’s foot at SITElines relies on symbolism, subterfuge, and …