Native American leaders call for destruction of Mount Rushmore

Fireworks aren't the only explosive thing for Independence Day. This year, Donald Trump has chosen to celebrate National Day at the feet of Mount Rushmore. A choice widely contested because of the explosive context that overlooks the United States between pandemic and riots. However, the President intends to make this evening a memorable event that could also be the last in his career if he were to fail in the next presidential elections.

Read also: Trump bets on fireworks to make people forget the pandemic

If Mount Rushmore has not known such a celebration since 2009 because of the environmental risks that it involves, Trump insisted on going there, even if it meant deviating from the rules of social distancing. But this displacement has reacted another segment of the American population: the descendants of tribes. The Art Newspaper reports that several leaders have expressed dissatisfaction and want the memorial depicting the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln to be removed.

"The largest monument to colonial subjugation"

Julian Bear Runner, president of the Oglala Sioux tribe, has repeatedly explained that the monument should be "removed but not detonated". A sentiment shared by his counterpart from the Sioux tribe of Cheyenne River, Harold Frazier, who said he could deal with it without the American government having a single dollar to spend. A fight also led by the Lakota People's Law Project, an association that works for the integration and sustainability of the Lakota populations.

"There is no greater monument to the colonial subjugation of the indigenous peoples than Mount Rushmore, and the President's plan to further desecrate this sacred ground with fireworks and his own presence without being invited is another unforgivable affront , ” the organization told Art Newspaper. "It is time to recover or demolish all racist monuments. As a society, we must make a commitment to continuously respect marginalized populations , " added the Lakota People's Law Project.

Read also: Barack Obama would like to be on Mount Rushmore

Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota reacted to these remarks, indicates that none of this will take place "under his mandate" . “I want to make one thing clear: the men honored on Mount Rushmore were not perfect. They all had faults, but they also had enormous virtues. We can learn from their successes, and we can also learn from their mistakes, ” she said at last.