The Many Faces of Josefa Jaramillo: (Mis)identifications and Historical Longing in the Colonial Present.

This article examines the contested provenance and identification of two photographs long believed to depict Josefa Jaramillo, the Taoseña wife of frontiersman Kit Carson, which surfaced in 1970 at the Kit Carson Home and Museum in Taos, New Mexico. Despite widespread acceptance for fifty years, evidence suggests these images are not of the same woman and may not depict Josefa Jaramillo at all, reflecting broader issues of colonial legacy, racial and gendered erasure, and economic precarity in New Mexico. The article situates these photographs within complex family histories, local museum politics dominated by Masonic fraternal orders, and the socio-economic challenges of the region, highlighting how desires for historical connection can lead to mistaken identifications. It also contrasts the hidden traumas behind these serene portraits with more widely recognized images of war and suffering, emphasizing the need for nuanced and honest engagement with historical subjects and their legacies.