Donald Trump should stay away from Mount Rushmore, Sioux leader says [View all]
Source: Guardian
The president’s planned visit to the monument on ‘stolen’ Native land risks spreading coronavirus, tribal president warns
Edward Helmore
Wed 1 Jul 2020 04.00 EDT
Donald Trump should not carry out his planned 3 July visit to the Mount Rushmore monument in South Dakota because it represents a safety risk in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and is an insult to Native Americans on whose stolen land it was built, the president of the Oglala Sioux tribal council has said.
Several Native American groups are planning protests for Trump’s controversial trip to the 79-year-old stone monument carved into the Black Hills that is set to include the first fireworks display at the site since 2009 and an air force flypast.
“Trump coming here is a safety concern not just for my people inside and outside the reservation, but for people in the Great Plains. We have such limited resources in Black Hills, and we’re already seeing infections rising,” the Oglala Sioux president, Julian Bear Runner, in an interview with the Guardian.
“It’s going to cause an uproar if he comes here. People are going to want to exercise their first amendment rights to protest and we do not want to see anyone get hurt or the lands be destroyed,” Bear Runner said.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/01/mount-rushmore-donald-trump-sioux
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