Advertisement. Advertise with us

Trustees Erasing ‘Indian’

From Village Plaques

By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com

The Cooperstown Board of Trustees voted to reach out to the State Department of Education to update signage in Council Rock that refers to Native Americans as “Indians” (Jim Kevlin/AllOTSEGO.com)

COOPERSTOWN – It was a constituent that alerted Village Trustee MacGuire Benton to verbiage on historic markers at Council Rock, a Native American meeting place where the Susque- hanna River flows out of Otsego Lake.

“I was shocked that I hadn’t noticed it previously,” he said. “The sign refers to Native Americans
as ‘Indians’. It’s racially insensitive and incorrect, and it needs to be updated.”

The signs, which were installed by the state Department of Education as WPA projects in the 1930s, refer to Council Rock as: “Famous meeting place of the Indians.”

That prompted Trustee Cindy Falk to raise the same concern about The Indian Grave, two blocks away at Estli Avenue and Main Street. A “newer” sign, it commemorates remains that were excavated and reburied in a mound there.

Even newer plaques, such as the one installed a year ago January at First Presbyterian Church, commemorating New York State’s 1827 emancipation of slaves, does include updated language, said Benton.

“We’re not the only municipality making these changes,” he said. “In this moment of social awareness and racial justice, I’m sure the state Department of Education is familiar with this request.”

Trustee Richard Sternberg made the motion to reach out to the Education Department. “We need to get ahead of this,” he said. “That way, we can acknowledge that we recognize this and immediately send it on to be corrected.”

Mayor Ellen Tillapaugh Kuch asked Trustee Jeanne Dewey, as chair of the Parks Board, to spearhead the task.

However, Trustee Joe Membrino cautioned against jumping too quickly to make the change. “I’ve been involved in Indian Affairs and we need to be careful how we’re presenting this,” he said. “We should investigate and we should make the request, but we shouldn’t assume what is politically or culturally correct. We need to do our due diligence.”

“Whoever is making the new signs will be awfully sensitive,” said Sternberg.

As part of the TEP project on Pioneer Street, the mayor said the village had to work with Mohawks and Oneidas to assure compliance, and that they still have connections to the tribal organizations that they can reach out to clarify the proper language for the sign update.

“It’s not about taking down the signs,” said Tillapaugh. “It’s about using language that is culturally appropriate.”

No one mentioned that one of Cooperstown’s most famous statues, “The Indian Hunter” by John Quincy Adams Ward, is in Lakefront Park.

Posted

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Related Articles

SCOLINOS: It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide

COLUMN VIEW FROM THE GAME It’s All We Need To Know: Home Plate 17 Inches Wide Editor’s Note:  Tim Mead, incoming Baseball Hall of Fame president, cited John Scolinos, baseball coach at his alma mater, Cal Poly Pomona, as a lifelong inspiration, particularly Scolinos’ famous speech “17 Inches.” Chris Sperry, who published sperrybaseballlife.com, heard Scolinos deliver a version in 1996 at the American Baseball Coaches Association in Nashville, and wrote this reminiscence in 1916 in his “Baseball Thoughts” column. By CHRIS SPERRY • from www.sperrybaseballlife.com In 1996, Coach Scolinos was 78 years old and five years retired from a college coaching…

Piper Seamon Scores 1,000th point

1,000 THANKS! Piper Seamon 5th CCS Girl To Hit High Mark The Cooperstown Central student section erupts as Piper Seamon scores her 1,000th career point in the Hawkeyes’ 57-39 win over Waterville at home last evening. Seamon becomes the fifth girl and only the 14th player in school history overall to score 1,000 points.  Inset at right, Pipershares a hug with teammate Meagan Schuermann after the game was stopped to acknowledge her achievement. Seamon will play basketball next year at Hamilton College. (Cheryl Clough/AllOTSEGO.com)  …

Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told

CLICK HERE FOR MEMO TO SCHOOLS Sports Can Resume, Superintendents Told COOPERSTOWN – In a memo released Friday evening, county Public Health Director Heidi Bond advised local school superintendents that sports can resume as early as Monday. “Effective Feb. 1, participants in higher-risk sports may participate in individual or distanced group training and organized no/low-contact group training,” Bond wrote, “…including competitions and tournaments, if permitted by local health authorities.”…

Putting the Community Back Into the Newspaper

Now through March 30, new annual subscribers to “The Freeman’s Journal” and AllOtsego.com (or subscribers who have lapsed for two or more years) have an opportunity to help their choice of one of four Otsego County charitable organizations.

$5.00 of your subscription will be donated to the nonprofit of your choice:

Cooperstown Farmers’ Market, Cooperstown Food Pantry, Greater Oneonta Historical Society or Super Heroes Humane Society.