Museum: Gallows-like sculpture to be dismantled, then burned
Source: Associated Press
Updated 6:55 pm, Wednesday, May 31, 2017
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Officials of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis said Wednesday that Native American tribal leaders will oversee the dismantling of a gallows-like sculpture that reminded protesters of the mass hanging of 38 Dakota men in 1862.
The Dakota elders will then lead a ceremonial burning of the "Scaffold" sculpture near Fort Snelling. That's where Dakota people were imprisoned after the 1862 U.S.-Dakota War that led to the executions in Mankato.
The decision was announced after a meeting that included the elders, Walker executive director Olga Viso, representatives of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and city government, and Los Angeles-based artist Sam Durant.
"These were acts of genocide, not something to be portrayed between a giant rooster and a cherry," said Cheyenne St. John, a tribal historian for the Lower Sioux community, referring to other giant artworks in the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. The controversy over "Scaffold" has delayed the garden's reopening after a reconstruction project until June 10.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Museum-Gallows-like-sculpture-to-be-dismantled-11186629.php
