Indianapolis Councilor calls for removal of Columbus statue

The bronze bust of Christopher Columbus stands on the southwest corner of the Indiana Statehouse lawn in Indianapolis. Installed in 1920 as a gift from Italian immigrant communities, the sculpture was intended to be a tribute to America. However, the work by artist Enrico Vittori includes a figure of a Black male slave who stands behind a central figure representing the "perennial genius of the Italian race." Because the bronze material does not allow for skin color, Vittori depicted the slave with "wooly" hair to indicate race. This figure deferentially avoids eye contact with the central figure, while a kneeling figure representing white womanhood also avoids eye contact with the central figure, directing her gaze instead at his nearby loincloth.

On the centennial of the statue's dedication, Indianapolis City-County Councilor Jason Larrison publicly called for its removal. Speaking from the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, Larrison objected to the public celebration of a figure who was "infamous for his role in the genocide of the Native American peoples." He highlighted the pain this historical representation causes to their descendants alive today.

The monument has undergone several modifications over the years. In 1955, the Knights of Columbus funded a cleaning of the bronze and added lettering to the back of the pedestal. In 1992, during the Columbus Quincentenary, a new plaque was installed with a statement intended to encourage tolerance and acceptance of all cultures. While the statue was originally intended to be placed in a park, it was instead installed on the Statehouse lawn shortly after the building's completion, where it has stood since 1920.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons