Sitka officials may hold talks as early as next week on the possibility of relocating city founder Alexander Baranov's statue, Municipal Administrator John Leach told Sputnik on Monday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th July, 2020) Sitka officials may hold talks as early as next week on the possibility of relocating city founder Alexander Baranov's statue, Municipal Administrator John Leach told Sputnik on Monday.
In late June, a group of activists urged Sitka authorities to remove the statue, citing mistreatment of the indigenous population during the era of colonization. In 1799, Baranov founded Sitka (then called Novo-Archangelsk) as the capital of the Russian colonies in North America.
"There is potential for a discussion with the Assembly to happen on the July 14th meeting, but that is not certain yet," Leach said. "No decision has been made, and no meetings have taken place to discuss any outcome."
Sitka Mayor Gary Paxton said the city is working with all interested parties in a positive and constructive way. In case of relocation, the statue most likely will get "a prominent place" in the Sitka History Museum, the mayor added.
Sitka is situated on Baranof Island, which is named after Baranov, who was the governor of what was then called Russian America. The group of activists that want the statue removed consists mostly of people from the Tlingit tribe.
In June, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the protection of the country's monuments, which have become a major target for protesters during a month of violent clashes and demonstrations following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year old black man, in Minneapolis police custody on May 25.
According to Trump's order, those found guilty of vandalizing statues and monuments could face 10 years in jail.
Floyd died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes in an incident captured on video that went viral.
In many cities across the country, statues depicting former Confederate generals, presidents who owned slaves, and Christopher Columbus, the fifteenth-century Italian explorer who was said to have discovered North America, have been targeted by protesters.
