In 2021, it’s time for “the chief” to come down by Trennie Collins
It’s funny to think that in 2021 Indigenous people are still having to explain themselves and why images that are supposed to portray them are racist and hurtful.
First off let me say, I humbly come before you to express my opinion around the caricature that sits in front of Toh-Atin Gallery. And I also want to make myself clear that this has nothing to do with the gallery itself, but has everything to do with the harmfully racist and outdated image that the caricature portrays, that sits outside their front doors.
I understand that Indigenous people rely on the Clark’s to make a living, and I also understand why those who sell there might now want to take a stand about this image. When the power balance is not in your favor and you must work to make a living and that living includes selling in places like this, I won’t push and don’t expect you to risk your livelihood for me.
To some, this image brings a lot of good nostalgic memories back from when it was a sign for a restaurant, and at no point on this journey to get it taken down do I want to discount those feelings. Heck, the other day my mom and I had a conversation about that image and what it meant to her, she said it brought her joy and good memories she remembers when she was a kid and how they used to eat at “the chief.” But then she listened to me… the words I had to say around how hurtful, demeaning and dehumanizing I felt it was and how it made me feel. She then understood why this hurtful image shouldn’t be standing and for her to listen, hear me and change her perspective around this made me so happy because now Indigenous people who want respectful and meaningful imagery are being seen and heard.
The thing is, it’s just not about me and my feelings. There are numerous youth, adults, and elders who find this image hurtful and saddening and it bring up current and past trauma.
I grew up on the Southern Ute Reservation and am a Southern Ute Tribal Member and I remember when my family would come into town and seeing this and I remember wondering why? Why was it up? What did it mean? Who was it?
I remember relating it to those old cartoons where Native American characters were dressed like how “the chief” looks but they weren’t the heroes in these cartoons. Nope. They were usually the villains and portrayed as savages, undisciplined, and needing to be saved or killed. It’s funny that this sign is called “the chief” when in our local tribal traditions, whether that’s Ute or any of the other ancestral tribes that called Colorado home, the chiefs looked nothing like this sign. It’s dehumanizing, having to see this image then and even now. What more do I need to even say as an Indigenous woman?
Even now I try to avoid the street that this sits on. Why? I think it is just a response to the trauma that Indigenous people have been through and to be treated and seen as a caricature or character with no real value or feelings but an image, a costume, simply a character for people to look at, take pictures with or stare at. But I have to admit that seeing this sign causes me sadness and anger because for months now indigenous people all across this land have been calling for its removal but have been told by people who don’t represent our tribe, our people, or share our indigenous blood that there is nothing wrong with the sign. I would compare this to Germans telling the Jewish people that the harmful cartoons they used to portray them as “less than” are not harmful and that it’s a sign of respect or honor. When in reality it is neither.
We always talk about our Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives. The dehumanization this image stokes or invokes in people is a direct link to our missing relatives. We are human we aren’t just a character. You can’t treat us like a character, we have feelings and needs. We have our culture and traditional teachings. We as Indigenous people don’t use such images when we celebrate our people, our culture, our traditions, or even when we promote our dances or ceremonies. The dehumanization of Indigenous people has to stop!!
There’s this amazing report done and published in June of 2020: The psychosocial effects of Native American mascots: a comprehensive review of empirical research findings by Laurel R. Davis-Delano, Joseph P. Gone & Stephanie A. Fryberg. Summary of findings on direct effects on Native Americans. Considering both of the studies discussed above, it appears that Native American mascots yield negative psychological effects (e.g., depressed self-esteem, community worth, and future achievement-related goals, and increased negative feelings of stress, distress, depression, dysphoria, and hostility) for Native American students. [i]
I urge you to look up this report and read it in its entirety!
The growing call to recall these hurtful images has grown over the past couple of years. The name changes of sports teams such as the Cleveland baseball team and others…. Let’s ask ourselves why is it hard to listen to people who are being hurt by these images? And why is it that Indigenous people are often ignored when it comes to who they are and what makes them beautiful and unique? And yes, I’m going to ask the really hard question; if this were an African American Caricature would this still be up or would the City of Durango have already removed it without having to beg?
If I told you that there are Indigenous people who are hurt by “the chief” would you listen to us? I have spoken with individuals who are hurt by this image, that don’t like seeing it in a town they go to school, live, and work. These are OUR PEOPLE, OUR YOUTH! The ones who will be our leaders, our teachers, and storytellers! Why aren’t we hearing them and listening?? Is it because it doesn’t hurt you enough to want to take action? Or because you like “it?” What if I told you it brings memories of trauma and shame to some? Would that change your mind? What if making this world a better place for OUR PEOPLE meant taking down a caricature statue? Just that easy, right?
As an Indigenous woman I ask myself these questions all the time: Why do I even have to fight to get this caricature taken down? Why am I having to explain my hurt and pain?
A couple of facts about what’s happened with “the chief” removal conversation:
1. An anonymous donor is willing to pay to have “the chief” taken down and pay to have a NEW piece of art put up! So, NO money would come out of the Clark’s pocket!
2. An Indigenous artist would get paid a commission for the new art piece if selected!! THIS IS HUGE!! I WOULD LOVE AN INDIGENOUS ARTIST TO PUT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL THERE!
3. The Clark’s have stepped out of conversations and are not willing to take down “the chief”. When asked in January of 2021 to agree to take it down, their answer was “NO”.
We see other statues or visual imagery portraying Indigenous people and lives but most of these are made and created by non-indigenous people looking in from the outside. Statues such as the Dignity Statue in South Dakota which was designed by non-indigenous sculptor Dale Lamphere. Lamphere made this statue in honor of the cultures of the Lakota and Dakota people who call the Dakotas home. His statue is honorable and respectful and is something Indigenous people can get behind.
Then there’s Joseph Zordon who is an enrolled member of the Bad River Ojibwe and a Ph.D. student at Harvard University who wrote an article about Cyrus Dallin’s “Appeal to the Great Spirit” sculpture that sits in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. He wrote, “Who then must contend with this imagery and the myths it represents? Dallin was not wrong in immobilizing the figure’s eyes open, as we, as Natives, have never had the luxury of looking away. Indigenous peoples’ mockery is so normalized within the United States that our defacement is the foundation of a multibillion-dollar franchise. Yet, we have challenged these violent depictions since their inception—we have spent so much effort explaining how images like Appeal to the Great Spirit are hurtful to us and harmful to our communities, time and time again.”[ii]
How privileged must we be to portray imagery of a group of people we have no lived history, education, or knowledge about other than what we fantasize them to be, as brutal or as romantic as we please?
Remove “the Chief” and if you want to display an image or statue representing Indigenous people who called Colorado home, we’re here and open to discussion.
Citations:
[i] Laurel R. Davis-Delano, Joseph P. Gone & Stephanie A. Fryberg (2020): The psychosocial effects of Native American mascots: a comprehensive review of empirical research findings, Race Ethnicity and Education, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2020.1772221
[ii] Joseph Zordon “Appeal to the Great” Art for This Moment July 6, 2020
Tog’oiak,
Trennie Burch Collins
She, Her, Hers