Espanola wasn’t “settled” by the Spanish. Pueblo and Apache native peoples lived in that area for centuries before any Spanish arrived.

it must be very difficult even to this day for any native people to admit that after all was done that there must have been good events and positive contributions and good relationships that grew from the coexistence with the occupying peoples; i dont know that the Espanola site specifically was occupied or not; i suspect that there were sites up and down the rio grande that were home to crop growing and to roaming native tribes; what i do know is that the varied natives and the hispanics in time became almost indistinguishable in looks, in surnames, in language, the cultures became intermingled and richer and most importantly survived inspite of the conflicts. I am very proud of both my native and hispanic roots.
I do not choose one over the other. The thing i am proudest of, is that both DNAs know that education cures a lot of ills.