ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — A group of people in Rock Island, including members of the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities, is speaking out against the donation of the Black Hawk statue at the Watchtower Plaza site.
The Rock Island City Council had previously voted February 14 to donate the statue to Blackhawk Bank & Trust. The bank had asked the city for the donation so it could remove, restore and then relocate the statue to a property on West 4th Street and West 3rd Avenue in Milan.
“My very first thought was – because of my age and I've never seen the difference – 'Oh, I'm not sure about this," Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms said back in February. "But after talking to [the bank] and seeing where it's going to go, I’m very supportive of this process."
Members of the Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities are upset they were not consulted on the matter. During the city council's March 14 meeting, several people spoke about their desire to remove the statue completely due to its racist imagery.
"We felt like it was going to be part of a propaganda imagery," Co-founder of the NACQC Josie Ironshield said. "That's something that we are trying to fight against. It's more of we want people to start really seeing us as who we are, and not that. That was kind of just a little racist with the stoic (look) and the robe … We are human. We love. We take care of our families. We're not just stoic like that. That's just the image that has always been taught of that's how Native American people were. That's not how we are. That's not what we are."
Ironshield added that if the statue can't be removed entirely, the coalition suggested it be placed somewhere where it can be used as an educational tool.
"As a piece of this is what it used to be," she said. "This is how we were represented and how people were led to believe this is what we were and we're not."
Beth Carvey spoke about her time working at the Hauberg Indian Museum at the Black Hawk Historic Site and how hard she worked to reverse the imagery students had about Native Americans. She said it's frustrating seeing the statue still standing and that it perpetuates those images she and others have tried to erase.
"Don't continue to condone racial stereotypes that are still demeaning to people today," she told the city council. "It's not too late to be on the right side of history."
"It's time for us to show some respect for the Sauk and get rid of that sign," Janet Moline added. "Or find some other way to make sure that image is no longer part of our landscape."
"While many have a fondness for the statue, we should ask ourselves whether continuing to displace it is good for anyone's future," Augustana College history professor Jane Simonsen said.
The NACQC suggested a scholarship be created with the money that would be used to remove, restore and relocate the statue.
"We dealt with having this statue up all these years, and I don't want to see it up again somewhere else, especially not in front of a bank," Ironshield said. "Whether you're German, whether you're a Native American, whether you're an African American, it doesn't matter. Everybody has to be respected and be see as what they are, and not this imagery. The imagery has to stop."
Vincent Thomas said the coalition would like to meet with Blackhawk Bank & Trust President Jim Huiskamp to discuss the issue further, but a meeting has not been set yet.
Huiskamp also spoke at the city council meeting. He said he considers the statue to be a piece of art and that the bank has no plans to dishonor Black Hawk. He finished by saying he plans to contact the Sauk and Fox Nation to determine the best way to move forward honoring the statue.