Residents of Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood awoke on Monday to find a statue of Abraham Lincoln in the area vandalized, according to reports.
The Lincoln statue on North Stockton Drive near the Chicago History Museum was defaced with red paint overnight in what appeared to be a protest Monday, CBS News reported. reported. Columbus Day is officially recognized as a federal holiday in the United States, and the federal government also recognizes the day as Indigenous Peoples Day.
a video Footage of the vandalized statue aired by the same media showed graffiti spray-painted on the statue’s pedestal reading “Lincoln was the executioner.” (Related: ‘Our hearts sank’: Authorities uncover vandalism at Gettysburg Battlefield)
Three other messages spray-painted on or near the statue are: “Take back the land,” “May all empires fall from Turtle Island to Palestine,” and “Remember the Dakota 38.” (Chicago Sun-Times) photojournalist Tyler Pasiak Lariviere Posted With X.
Lariviere too I posted a photo A partially torn poster on the wall of the memorial reads:[…] In the struggle from Turtle Island to Palestine, all colonial empires collapsed. With love from Jigagon. ”
The Lincoln Memorial behind the Chicago History Museum had previously been defaced. Around the monument is written:
“Lincoln Was the Executioner”, “Landback”, “May All Empires Fall from Turtle Island to Palestine”, “Remember Dakota 38” pic.twitter.com/oBIBAEtqhm
— Tyler Paciak-LaRiviere (@TylerLaRiviere) October 14, 2024
Some Native Americans refer to the North American continent as Turtle Island. According to Cambridge Dictionary.
The statue of Lincoln, known as Standing Lincoln, was erected in 1887 by the Chicago Monument Project. said.
Labeling Lincoln an executioner is an obvious reference to the hanging of 38 Dakota Indians on his orders after the six-week American-Dakota War. According to Minnesota Historical Society.
CBS News video showed police tape placed around the vandalized statue and police taking photos of it.
Lincoln statue also vandalized October 10, 2022, CBS News Separately reported.
An anonymous group calling itself “Resisters of Colonial Violence” claimed responsibility for the vandalism. According to Chicago Sun-Times. They called the 16th president of the United States a “colonizer” and spray-painted graffiti with phrases such as “Off the colonizer from the throne” and “Give us back the land!” And on the pedestal of the statue is written “Avenge the Dakota 38”.
The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., was vandalized in late December 2023 with graffiti sprayed on it with the words “Liberate Gaza” written in red paint. There were also two other messages near the monument: “Free Gaza” and “Give us back our land.”
The 2023 and 2024 vandalism occurred against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
