(FreedomBeacon.com)- The “Cherokee Indian” has stood at Jefferson and Cherokee since 1985. It became a neighborhood emblem and a landmark for St. Louisans and tourists. Until “progressives” removed it.
A non-local property mogul and comic book entrepreneur were behind the move. The business owner wanted to relocate into the area behind the monument, so he called a hasty meeting to get it destroyed while telling the press the neighborhood supported it.
Bill Christenson designed and built the “Cherokee Indian” in 1985 for the Cherokee Station Business Association. The monument was erected to represent the Cherokee people. The neighborhood was rebuilding following the South County Mall’s downfall in the 1970s and 1980s. The Cherokee Nation did not wear the statue’s garments or headdresses depicted in the art. Despite the statue’s inaccuracies, residents and St. Louisans had grown to enjoy it.
Following “woke” statue removals around the country, including St. Louis’ Apotheosis of St. Louis, two persons conspired to remove the statue and did it swiftly and without public notice. Two white individuals professed to be upset for the Cherokee people and soon summoned a Cherokee Improvement District meeting (CID). The Cherokee CID voted to remove the statue, which was taken down that evening, September 16, 2021, and relocated the following day to the National Building Arts Center in Sauget, IL.
Many in the community were unaware of the meeting and were shocked when it was removed.
White businesses that benefitted from its removal were the only ones consulted, standard operational procedures for “progressive” bullying and “democracy.”
A string of news pieces advocating the statue’s removal implied widespread support, another leftwing tack.
Many neighbors were angered and saddened by the statue’s removal, how it was done, and the lack of a replacement by community “leaders.”
Local villagers decided to build a new, historically correct monument. Eddie Morrison, a Cherokee National Treasurer sculptor, was approached.
A private property owner was ideal. Cherokee Residential Care owner Jode Pate consented to install the monument on her property at Cherokee and Missouri.
How many sculptures must be pulled down and history destroyed before becoming a bland communist country with no character or culture? Fighting back is a symbolic act. We must say no to the minority of “progressive” bullies who intimidate their way into stripping the American landscape of its history and culture.
