CHARLEMONT — After hearing from residents, tribal representatives and other officials on Monday, Selectboard members stated they do not intend to get involved in the discussion around changing the Native American statue at the Native and Himalayan Views souvenir shop on Route 2.
The Historical Commission made an appointment with the Selectboard to update members about the controversy surrounding the statue, which tribal representatives have said perpetuates racist stereotypes. At the end of the discussion, the parties already involved said they will engage in further dialogue to come to a conclusion and mutual understanding about the issue.
“I am really heartened to see this much participation and passion around making sure the history and culture that we have here in town is something we can be prideful on,” Selectboard Chair Valentine Reid said at the meeting, held in a Town Hall meeting room that was packed with 23 attendees. “It is not a state issue. You have a good dialogue and I would hate to get in the way of that dialogue.”
The statue stands taller than the gift shop building and was made by Rodman Shutt, a sculptor from Strasburg, Pennsylvania, who made larger-than-life pieces across the Northeast in the 1960s and ‘70s. Shutt has two other sculptures in Maine and New York of Indigenous people, all wearing sacred objects from a variety of different nations from across the Americas. The statue has stood at the Charlemont store since 1974.
Recent discussions about removing or altering the statue began in October 2022, at which time Tomantha Sylvester, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a community advocate and an artist in residence at the Ohketeau Cultural Center in Ashfield, created a petition calling for its removal, saying it perpetuates racist stereotypes. The petition, which can be viewed at bit.ly/3CtQ5Lr, garnered nearly 1,300 signatures and led to the start of a dialogue with store owner Sonam Lama and Bob Pollak, a family friend who helps represent Lama.
Sylvester, Rhonda Anderson, a member of the Iñupiaq Athabaskan nation and the western Massachusetts commissioner on Indian Affairs, and Laurel Davis-Delano, a professor of sociology at Springfield College who researches white attitudes, representations and practices associated with Native Americans, all spoke with Lama about the harmful stereotypes depicted at the souvenir shop.
As a result of their conversation, various changes are being made to the store, with the biggest alteration being the development of three possible redesign options for the statue. The designs can be viewed at bit.ly/3WAV1pW.
Sylvester, Anderson and Davis-Delano have also requested that a teepee on the property be removed and that some of the store’s inventory be properly identified in accordance with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990.
In early February, the Historical Commission voted to request to be part of the conversations regarding the statue, in hopes of preserving the vernacular landscape of Charlemont. The various involved parties came together for the first time at Monday’s Selectboard meeting.
Historical Commission Chair Bill Coli spoke first, noting that the commission has no intention to seek to have the statue included on the National Register of Historic Places. While the statue may be eligible, Coli said the commission has no authority over a statue on private property.
“Our role is to shepherd, conserve and identify historical resources,” Coli said.
He spoke about “two competing truths” concerning the sculpture. Coli acknowledged the hardships Indigenous people have faced in the region and beyond, while also mentioning the statue represents the start of American middle class tourism and the origin of the scenic byway of Route 2 as a tourist destination.
Pollak also spoke, saying the intentions behind the creation of the sculpture are unknown, but that the year before the sculpture was created, actor Marlon Brando sent Sacheen Littlefeather, an Apache representative, to decline his Academy Award for best actor for his performance in “The Godfather” in protest of Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans in film. Pollak said this event shows that the treatment of Native Americans was at the forefront of national discussions at the time the statue was created.
Pollak also pointed out that the Facebook post asking for public opinions regarding possible revisions to the statue has 117 comments and reactions in favor of changing it and 63 comments and reactions against changing it. Some responses were not clearly for or against changes, and were not incorporated into these totals.
Anderson spoke briefly as well. She thanked everyone for their time and turned the attention to two people from the Nipmuc nation. She explained that the Mohawks, the nation that the state highway gets its name from, were not the original inhabitants of the area. The Nipmuc nation, the original inhabitants, was displaced during King Philip’s War, but many Nipmuc people still live in the area today.
Jasmine Goodspeed, a member of the Nipmuc nation, argued that the people who hope to keep the statue are worried about erasing their history and a part of their culture, but the reason the statue was created was to commandeer Native American culture.
“The statue isn’t even true to who we are,” Goodspeed said. “It’s a landmark that signifies what was taken from us.”
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.
An earlier version of this article included incorrect information regarding the public’s feedback on Facebook concerning revisions to the Native American statue. The post received 117 comments and reactions in favor and 63 comments and reactions against possible changes to the statue. Some responses were not clearly for or against changes, and were not incorporated into these totals.