Honoring Our Native Hosts

As some of you may already know, there has been an art installation called “Beyond the Chief” on Nevada St. by artist and University of Oklahoma professor, Edgar Heap of Birds. The installation, comprised of metal signs that read the names of the native tribes that once called these lands their homes, became the target of several acts of vandalism during the past six months.

On Saturday, June 13th, the Ho-Chunk and Peoria signs were stolen by Mark Nepperman, a May graduate of fine and applied arts. Nepperman asserted that he’d made a poor decision, but that the vandalism was not a “hate crime.” Whatever the case may be, it is hard to turn our eyes away from the ways in which communities of color on this campus continue to be marginalized.

We at the Women’s Resources Center condemn this act and all other acts of vandalism that “Beyond the Chief” has endured. We see the struggle to overcome racism on campus as a integral part of our own Center’s mission and will continue to work to raise student consciousness of the issues faced by our brothers and sisters in this community. We stand in solidarity