MADISON, Wis. – A Lacrosse native, Gwen Pangburn, who lives now in Madison, said she has 1,500 signatures on a petition to save the Hiawatha statue at the north end of Riverside Park in LaCrosse. Pangburn disagrees with the Ho-Chunk Nation, which claims the statue is an inaccurate and demeaning historical representation of its tribal culture. She said the tribe misses the point. The 25-foot statue, Pangburn said, is folk art and not meant to represent a particular identity. It’s just supposed to be an artistic rendering of Native American Indians, she said. The city Parks Board, responding to the Ho-Chunks, has voted to remove the statue.
Earlier: LaCrosse to remove Hiawatha statue