Winona State University's Newspaper since 1919

The Winonan

Winona State University's Newspaper since 1919

The Winonan

Winona State University's Newspaper since 1919

The Winonan

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Letter: a response to End of Trail feature

CONTRIBUTED BY ALEX PAULSON

This is a simple note, from the students leading the Indigenous Learning Garden project, addressing some of the inaccuracies in the wonderfully written piece by Ms. Jordan Gerard in the Oct. 1, 2014 issue of The Winonan. The Winonan is an integral and important part of the community and this statement is simply to address some of the concerns we have received concerning this great article.

In response to perspective. When considering art, we feel it is not fair to call interpretations and perspectives correct or incorrect. All views and perspectives are valid but vary widely based on many influences. Though the End of the Trail statue is dominantly viewed, specifically at this institution, as an end of a People, not all share that perspective and view it as a man who has done well by his creator and is coming home spent at the end of the day. Each perspective is correct, one is just more pessimistic than the other.

The vision is to reframe this statue by contextualizing the sculpture. This would add educational value and create a forum for cultural exchange. We also would like to keep the statue to honor Ervin Bublitz and the generous donations he has provided to this campus and honor the Artist, James Earle Fraser, who is from Winona, MN.

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Additionally, the ad-hoc Inclusion & Diversity Committee of WSUSS played a role in the history of this project by serving as a platform for the reincarnation of the efforts that took place 7 years ago. We are currently a student lead effort that started not from a class presentation but rather an inspirational C.L.A.S.P. presentation by WSU professor Dr. Ripley. This, along with extensive support from various faculty, staff, administrators, and fellow students. Though certain factions may have not yet explicitly made their support, these faction have seemed to respond enthusiastically and positively.

We are currently in a dialogue with the WSU community, Winona Community and 22 tribal communities to inform a more inclusive design. And would like to invite all to come view our proposal on display in the KEAP Diversity Resource Center in Kryszko Commons and leave comments, concerns and constructive criticisms to further enhance our design.

We applaud The Winonan staff on their commitment to informing the WSU community through their stellar journalistic practices and are overjoyed Ms. Gerard used her impressive journalistic skills on our unrolling story. We look forward to working with Ms. Gerard and the Winonan as we persevere and contribute to charting the future. Gichi Miigwech! (many thanks)

-Alexander C. Paulson and Aaron Camacho

[email protected]

[email protected]

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