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Friday, March 29, 2024

Of monuments and imperfect men

Jason Adkins

When the painting “Father Hennepin Discovering the Falls of St. Anthony” (1905), along with another painting depicting the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, was removed from its central position in the Governor’s Reception Room of the Capitol to an out-of-the-way meeting space on the third floor, it was an attempt to recast Minnesota history as one born in white supremacy (with the coming of Christianity supposedly a part of that legacy) to tell instead a new story about the diverse state we are today.

The removal of the Father Hennepin painting was, on one level, a barometer of how far anti-Christian propaganda and historical ignorance have seeped into our culture.

Even so, the episode still provides important lessons about how to approach a complicated history and the issue of monuments more generally. In short, we need to do a better job as a Church of telling our story — of yesterday and of today — as well as reach out to those persons and communities who still struggle with the legacy of the sins and injustices of the past, whether Catholics committed them or not.

Identity politics

Public art tells the story of a people; it honors heroes, identifies core values and helps shape the narrative of public life. It answers the question: Who are we?

The commission in charge of reviewing Capitol art justified its recommendation to remove Father Hennepin on the grounds that the painting depicted a bare-breasted native woman, which, it claimed, was historically inaccurate and insensitive (though Father Hennepin himself described such scenes in his journals and there are bare breasts depicted in many places in the Capitol).

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And though Father Hennepin is shown blessing the falls with a crucifix, some apparently thought the painting depicted domination of native populations, especially when paired with the other painting, which shows an unjust appropriation of land in southwest Minnesota from two bands of Dakota Indians. People looked at those paintings and said, “No, that’s not us.”

But what seems to have given the most offense to some was that, in displaying the painting so prominently, the state’s origins were identified with the land being named and claimed for the dominion of Jesus Christ, and that this was being communicated to the many visitors who came to the Governor’s Reception Room.

Removing the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux painting is justifiable; removing Father Hennepin blessing the falls along with it is less so and seems rather like an unfortunate bow to political correctness.

Reclaiming history

Ignorance surely plays a part in this drama. Far from being an agent of white supremacy, the Catholic Church is the most racially and ethnically diverse religious society in Minnesota, the United States and around the world.

Historically speaking, it is true that the Anglo-Protestant colonization in the U.S. treated native populations like racially inferior Canaanites who could be driven from the land to make way for the new chosen people who had a “manifest destiny” to live in this new land of milk and honey.

French and Spanish imperialism, though not without their own abuses, were markedly different. The French actively intermarried with the native populations, evangelized them, traded with them and sought to diplomatically incorporate their tribes into the French expansion of Christendom.

The Spanish meanwhile, especially after the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1535, built a tremendous mestizo (mixed race) empire in New Spain inspired by the Virgin, patroness of the Americas. There were great libraries and universities in South America before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth.

Other missionaries played important roles in preserving indigenous cultures and recording languages; like the example of Bishop Frederic Baraga, who created the Ojibwe dictionary and translated the Bible into that tongue. As a result of such efforts, large percentages of Native Americans became Christian.

These men were not perfect, and neither are we. For all his daring and missionary endeavors, Father Hennepin made, by today’s standards, some cringe-inducing statements about natives. There was a process in which Europeans had to learn to love native peoples and their ways before effectively sharing the Gospel with them.

There is also a history of abuses in Minnesota’s origin story that requires a just response through atonement and repentance. One way we can do so is working with Native Americans, African-Americans and others to identify concrete ways in which the shameful legacies of genocide and slavery can be remediated today. Hearing the stories and perspectives of others in the “contextualization” of these paintings in their new location is another way that we can understand how others were and are affected by the stories told in them.

Still, we can also be confident in the missionary mandate, and proud of the Church’s role in bringing Christ to this land and forming new cultural syntheses — a story that should remain central to Minnesota’s identity and her monuments because, like the Church, a community built on Christian principles is one that has the most capacity to be inclusive and promote justice.

We can build on our history without trying to completely rewrite it.

Adkins is executive director of the Minnesota Catholic Conference.

Action Alert

Precinct caucuses and presidential primary

This year, Minnesotans have the opportunity to participate in both local precinct caucuses and the presidential primary.

Caucuses take place across Minnesota Feb. 25. The locations are set by the parties. To find your caucus location go to MNCatholic.org/Caucus.

During a party caucus, you can create and propose a resolution which, if voted through, can potentially become part of the party’s official platform. We have provided several resolutions on our website which you can download and bring with you to the caucus. The resolutions we’ve provided include issues ranging from clean water to assisted suicide and much more. You can also find a template for creating your own resolution on our website.

Minnesota’s presidential primary is set for March 3. The two major parties participating in the presidential nomination primary are the DFL and Republican parties. Registered voters are able to vote at their polling place March 3 or by absentee ballot starting Jan. 17.

Please note that to vote in a presidential primary of a particular party, you must request the ballot of the party of your choice. If a voter refuses to select a party, they will not be able to vote in the presidential primary. A voter’s choice of party ballot will be recorded and a list of who voted in a presidential primary and the political party each voter selected will be provided to the chair of each major political party. How a voter voted on the ballot will be secret.

For more details on caucus locations, resolutions, primary voting and more, visit MNCatholic.org/Caucus.

 

 


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