On the “Chief” sign, or on any other matter at all, if you are white, you cannot and should not write in to explain why the “Chief” statue is not offensive and racist.
If someone from any culture says that something is offensive, or racist, then it is. If you do not understand that what you must do is to listen to the perspectives of Native and Indigenous people on this matter, then you have not been listening to a single word of anything that has been shared in recent weeks by BIPOC around the nation about what is needed from white people to combat our own racist tendencies. Not a single word.
Every day that the “Chief” statue is still standing is now just another day that the gallery’s owners make it painfully obvious that they aren’t listening – and therefore they do not respect.
Debbie HiggsDurangoEditor’s note: “BIPOC” stands for “Black, Indigenous, People of Color.” According to Google Trends, its usage began to spike on social media in late May. Some Black scholars and activists have objected. “When you blend us all together like this, it’s erasure,” said podcast host Sylvia Obell (“Where Did BIPOC Come From?, The New York Times, June 17).
