One of the most famous monuments in America is now facing calls for its removal.
Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner says the land where Mount Rushmore is situated belongs Great Sioux Reservation and not the United States. Bear Runner says the monument to four American presidents should be removed.
“I don’t believe it should be blown up, because it would cause more damage to the land,” he told the Argus Leader.
“Removed but not blown up,” Bear Runner specified. He added that Sioux leaders were not consulted before Mount Rushmore was sculpted and said, “To me, it’s a great sign of disrespect.”
For decades, Native American tribes have pushed for the removal of Mount Rushmore which is located in what they consider sacred territory.
And in recent years, stories have revealed that Gutzon Borglum, Mount Rushmore’s sculptor, had ties to the KKK and white supremacy.
Bear Runner’s comments come roughly a week before President Donald Trump is scheduled to travel to Mount Rushmore for a Fourth of July celebration.
His comments also come as protesters have called for the removal of statues as protests calling for racial justice erupted around the country.
In several states, statues of Confederate figures and Christopher Columbus have been defaced or torn down.
And in recent days, protesters have targeted statues of President George Washington and President Ulysses S. Grant. Washington, D.C.’s, delegate to the House of Representatives Eleanor Norton Holmes announced plans to introduce legislation to remove a statue of former President Abraham Lincoln, as IJR reported.
Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro weighed in on the removal or vandalism of statues on Twitter and asked, “So, when is our woke historical revisionist priesthood going to insist on blowing up Mount Rushmore?”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R), the state where Mount Rushmore is located, shared Shapiro’s tweet and said, “Not on my watch.”
Not on my watch. https://t.co/U6gGap5Ib6
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) June 23, 2020
As monuments are being torn down, Trump announced that he plans to sign an executive order to force cities to protect monuments, as IJR reported.
