In the entrance of Somsen Hall sits three walls covered in a curtain. Many students might wonder what lies underneath them. This mystery, however, is not hard to uncover. What adorns this wall is a mural, which was dedicated to Winona State University in 1938. This mural depicts harmful and false imagery of the colonization of Winona. The depictions are inaccurate, and even includes imagery of a dead Native woman. This mural has been covered since Aug. 2020 as a temporary solution. This temporary solution was put up four years ago. The mural portrays an inaccurate version of history and students are fighting for the mural to be removed entirely rather than merely covered up.
On Oct. 14, 2024, a sit-in was hosted by the Turtle Island Student Organization (TISO) for the removal of this mural. In a sit down with several members of TISO, they shared their reasoning behind the sit-in, the negative impacts of having this mural up and the change they hope to see.
Many different types of people attended the sit-in. There was a sense of community that was felt with everyone in attendance. This was demonstrated in the very beginning of the sit-in when the group gathered in a circle outside for a smudge, which was used to clear negative energy. As well as when attendees were able to share their thoughts on sticky notes and amongst themselves.
The reason behind this sit-in is that the members of TISO and many others want the mural to be gone in its entirety. A member of TISO, Zoe VandeBerg, a third-year at Winona State, shares the purpose of the sit-in. “It’s about its removal ultimately, and so we wanted to draw more attention to it. A lot of students don’t know it exists because it has been covered up for over four years now.” The significance of this sit-in lies in the impact that this mural has had on Native people, students and faculty members.
First-year Winona State student and member of TISO, Cuecueyatzim Ayauhcozamalotl, shared his experience of learning that the mural existed and was still up. “One thing that drew me to Winona was the fact that we have the Indigenous Learning Garden and the TISO group. And to learn that the Somsen mural has been up there, and it has such a bad portrayal of what the history of Winona is like and then to have it covered up for four years without any real progress is very disheartening,” Ayauhcozamalotl said.
This mural actively has a negative impact not just on Native people, but also any progress that Winona State is trying to make in acknowledging the Native population. Having things like the Indigenous Learning Garden is good, but this effort lacks merit to many when this mural that contradicts their intentions is kept.
This mural also goes against Winona State’s value of inclusive excellence, as it actively deters Native people from entering campus. “I know that there are now a lot of Native people who won’t set foot on campus because of that mural being there,” Em Kellner, a fourth-year at Winona State and member of TISO, said. Inclusivity requires that a welcoming space is created, and while the university has generally made attempts at this, the Somsen mural still being up shows that they still have work to do.
There are also various staff members of Winona State who agree that this mural needs to be removed. Ty Bergner, a fourth-year Winona State student and TSIO member said, “Every professor I’ve talked to about this is in agreement that this should be gone.” The opinion that this mural should be removed extends far beyond professors.
Grace Butcher, a third-year student and member of TISO, added that they were able to talk to two librarians who specialize in historical art pieces. They agree with keeping some offensive pieces around for documentation purposes but even these librarians agreed that this mural should be taken down.
This call for action does not come without larger suggestions for change though. The members of TISO have suggestions that Winona State can take to rectify their lack of action. Their ultimate goal is for the mural to be removed, but their suggestion is that Winona State replace it with work done by a Native artist. Additionally, they would like more Native art around campus. Their call for change doesn’t stop there, they’re also asking that a position for an indigenous liaison be created. This would create the opportunity for them to work with Native students and advocate for them. They suggested that this liaison could do outreach to Native communities as well. This is something that would deeply benefit Winona State, as it would allow the university to show that they stand for the values they say they do. TISO also hopes for more work to be done to the Indigenous learning garden, and for more knowledge to be spread about it given that it is “an important central place on campus. Especially for the Native community,” Kellner said. TISO members have also suggested that Winona State start including classes pertaining to Native languages, specifically Dakota and Ho-Chunk, this is a way that these languages can be kept alive and create a more inclusive campus.
There will always be room for improvement, and this situation is no exception. Winona State makes land acknowledgements, but many find it hard to believe when there is a mural depicting an inaccurate record of history being kept around on campus. Removing this mural is a step toward properly acknowledging and repairing the damage it has done.
