22 July 2021
First View

This week our pals in Charlottesville removed a statue of Lewis and Clark, the great explorers of the path to the sea. The statue fight is part of the battle over the past. The narrow focus on the evil Confederates gained early support in a lot of progressive circles. Having had kin who fought on both sides of that conflict, I was comfortable with leaving the statues up to remind passers-by of the not-so-long-ago sentiments of people who lived here. Like, the whole thing was a little complicated. Not simple enough for some 21st Century bumper stickers.

Since then, the demolition of all sorts of statues followed, including an assortment of people like Lincoln, The Framers and even Frederick Douglas. It was a ritual destruction of our past, and not about something done by and to people long dead. Our Footnote people were directed to drag out some of the old ones about the notion of reparations being taught to our grandchildren just to be clear.

The recent dismantlement of the statue devoted to Lewis and Clark had to have more to it, of course, since they had nothing to do with the issue ostensibly at hand. Their memorable accomplishment wasn’t much more than a peaceful long walk in the country. The female figure in the statue seemed to be the issue, and not her, but rather her posture. She is kneeling, looking down. The offense committed by the statue includes direct reference to the patriarchy towering above her.

I should start with her, but of course this isn’t about her, or her life and accomplishments. Those are worth a story all by themselves. The conflict was about the statue in which she appears and what she is doing. The quick version is that Meriwether Lewis was from our sister county Albemarle, and William Clark’s dad was from these rolling green hills as well. The sculptural group was created by Charles Keck on commission from local philanthropist Paul Goodloe McIntire. They worked according to the title chosen, which was “Their First View of the Pacific.”

The monument was intended to celebrate the monumental moment in the monumental trek across what would be an America. They figures are posed as they stood on the ridge above their first glimpse down at the blue water that bounds the West. That is a classic example of the new history being marketed today.

See, the lady is looking down at the ocean, not kneeling to her exploitive masters. There are reasons for the statue. Albemarle County here in the Old Dominion was part of it. Lewis and Clark were from here. The Lady looking downslope? That is their Indian guide Sacagawea, whose name is a Lemhi Shoshone combination of the words for “Bird” and “Woman.” Erected in 1919, the statue was intended to celebrate the county’s contribution to the Louisiana Purchase, and the opening of The West.

Though not on the scale of many heroic sculptures, Keck’s monument is an able representation of the figurative style of outdoor statuary. It was an important component of the turn-of-the-century City Beautiful Movement. The contention of the moment is that Bird Woman’s posture doesn’t reflect current sentiments, though it might reflect 1919’s. Of course, that was a historic development celebrated then by suffragettes and romantics.

The Charlottesville City Council voted in November 2019 to remove the statue from its location, a decision “cheered by the local Native American tribe, the Monacan Indian Nation.” That Bird Woman may actually have been from the territory we now know as Idaho is irrelevant. So, even if she was an out-of-towner who traveled with some local men, the statue represents not the triumph of her contribution but today’s version, which is “a weak and servile image of Sacagawea.”

Bird Woman’s story, or what is known of it, anyway, is worth another story. It has everything, including the fact that her infant son was carried along with the party, and who was later adopted by Meriweather. But for now, the forces of our present seek to create a new future in which her memory in past times must be expunged. At Socotra House, we sort of like the old one, and will have to find out which VDOT barn they decide to place it.

They may not offer tours.

Copyright 2021 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com