The Push To Take Down General Custer’s Statue in Monroe
The General Custer Statue in Monroe: Take It Down or Move It?
This was a question that was raised in the summer of 2020. There was a petition pushing to remove the statue of General George Armstrong Custer that stands in downtown Monroe, Michigan.
With the ripping down of so many other statues of historic American figures, it's no surprise about Custer's. Last summer, the petition – started by a member of one of the tribes that fought Custer at Little Big Horn - garnered around 14,000 signatures. According to michiganradio.org, it's part of a campaign to stop honoring people who were responsible for “the removal of Native people from their ancestral lands”.
Custer has been depicted differently when it comes to the media. Depending on what movie you watch, he was either hailed as a hero or depicted as a paranoid mental case.....but which is correct? That will always be a subject of debate.
Custer and his troops were all wiped out at the Battle of Little Big Horn, Montana – known by all as 'Custer's Last Stand' – by warriors of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Sioux tribes on June 25, 1876. Custer was 36 years old.
City of Monroe officials have offered to update the monument, that hopefully will show both sides.....as a Civil War officer/hero for the Union, as well as pushing the forced removal of Native Americans. But the petitioners are requesting the statue be taken down altogether and put in a museum.
So far, the conclusion of this debate has settled on updating the text on the statue, adding Custer's part in the campaign of wrongful Indian removal...but differing opinions still continue.
Take a look at the gallery below for some pics of the statue, Little Big Horn battlefield after the battle, Custer himself, and more...
Also check out:
CUSTER FAMILY PLOT
POSSIBLE CUSTER CABIN HIDDEN IN THE WOODS
THE CUSTER CONTROVERSY
THANKS TO:
Michigan Radio