“It’s a beautiful thing because we have suffered from what he did to us,” said Dorene Day, a St. Paul resident and member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe.
Activists led by members of the American Indian Movement tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus at the State Capitol Wednesday. Once it toppled, they sang and danced around it in a dramatic show of defiance against a significant figure in the recent history of the Americas whose reputation is now associated with murder and enslavement of Indigenous peoples.
“For healing to happen, this needed to happen,” said Mike Forcia, chairman of the Twin Cities American Indian Movement and a member of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe. “It was here for far too long. It’s a slap in the face to all Native people and all people of color.”
Though Forcia tied the rope around the neck of the statue, Native women led the demonstration by pulling the rope that brought down the statue.
Her mother Charlotte Day was one of the founding mothers of the American Indian Movement, which began in Minneapolis in 1968 in response to police brutality against Native people. Day attended the demonstration with several of her children and her grandchildren, just like her mom brought her to protests when she was a child. “I know in spirit my mother is really happy,” Day said.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the highest ranking Native woman elected to executive office, released a statement in which she stopped just shy of congratulating the demonstrators.
“I can’t say I’m sad the statue of Christopher Columbus is gone. I’m not,” she wrote. “All Minnesotans should feel welcome at the Minnesota State Capitol, and our state is long overdue for a hard look at the symbols, statues and icons that were created without the input of many of our communities.”
The arrival of Columbus, Flanagan said, “set in motion centuries of violence and genocide against the Indigenous people who already lived here.”
Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged the legacy of genocide unleashed by Columbus, but he said in a statement that there’s a process for removing statues that should be followed “to ensure the safety of bystanders and the preservation of surrounding property.”
He added: “While that process was too long for those who were pained by the statue’s presence, that is not an excuse for them to take matters into their own hands and remove it in that fashion.”
Source
Activists led by members of the American Indian Movement tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus at the State Capitol Wednesday. Once it toppled, they sang and danced around it in a dramatic show of defiance against a significant figure in the recent history of the Americas whose reputation is now associated with murder and enslavement of Indigenous peoples.
“For healing to happen, this needed to happen,” said Mike Forcia, chairman of the Twin Cities American Indian Movement and a member of the Bad River Band of Ojibwe. “It was here for far too long. It’s a slap in the face to all Native people and all people of color.”
Though Forcia tied the rope around the neck of the statue, Native women led the demonstration by pulling the rope that brought down the statue.
Her mother Charlotte Day was one of the founding mothers of the American Indian Movement, which began in Minneapolis in 1968 in response to police brutality against Native people. Day attended the demonstration with several of her children and her grandchildren, just like her mom brought her to protests when she was a child. “I know in spirit my mother is really happy,” Day said.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the highest ranking Native woman elected to executive office, released a statement in which she stopped just shy of congratulating the demonstrators.
“I can’t say I’m sad the statue of Christopher Columbus is gone. I’m not,” she wrote. “All Minnesotans should feel welcome at the Minnesota State Capitol, and our state is long overdue for a hard look at the symbols, statues and icons that were created without the input of many of our communities.”
The arrival of Columbus, Flanagan said, “set in motion centuries of violence and genocide against the Indigenous people who already lived here.”
Gov. Tim Walz acknowledged the legacy of genocide unleashed by Columbus, but he said in a statement that there’s a process for removing statues that should be followed “to ensure the safety of bystanders and the preservation of surrounding property.”
He added: “While that process was too long for those who were pained by the statue’s presence, that is not an excuse for them to take matters into their own hands and remove it in that fashion.”
Source
Members of AIM sing the AIM song over the fallen Columbus statue in St Paul pic.twitter.com/0wrvvw0ey6— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) June 10, 2020
People dance around the statue. pic.twitter.com/6gIPTe9nBs— Max Nesterak (@maxnesterak) June 10, 2020
Governor Tim Walz: How many more years are we supposed to wait for the "process" to take place? When the leaders of a country do not see or hear the people, it is time for the people to take action!
Good!!!