Demonstrators in four cities across the country toppled statues, including one of George Washington, and vandalized buildings over Thanksgiving to protest colonialism and the treatment of Native Americans.
In Portland, Oregon, police responded to reports of protesters “breaking windows and spraying graffiti” at a New Seasons Market grocery store, according to a press release. Police found that at least 10 businesses had been damaged and arrested three adults on charges of criminal mischief and one minor on charges related to property damage.
A picture from the New Seasons Market showed the words “Land Back” spray-painted on the doors of the grocery chain.
LANDBACK is a campaign that was started by the NDN Collective, an organization established “to equip all Indigenous Peoples with the tools needed to become architects of our future” by increasing funding to indigenous communities, developing infrastructure, and advocating for at-risk communities, according to the organization’s website.
Established in October, LANDBACK is part of a movement to redistribute indigenous land back to the people who were displaced by European settlers. Its primary focus is “the closure of Mount Rushmore, return of that land and all public lands in the Black Hills, South Dakota” back to Native Americans.
A monument in Portland dedicated to veterans of the Civil War and the Mexican, Spanish, and Indian wars was also spray-painted, and the statue on top of the monument was torn down.
Good morning to everyone but colonizers. Especially this one who seems to be having a particularly rough morning down at the war monument in Lone Fir pic.twitter.com/gKIDuZJYtB
— Alissa Azar (@R3volutionDaddy) November 26, 2020
Demonstrators told Oregon Live that their stated plan was “to protest the colonization, capitalism and gentrification” they said Thanksgiving represents.
A statue of former President Abraham Lincoln in Spokane, Washington, was also covered in red paint, according to USA Today. In Minneapolis, a statue of Washington was toppled and spray-painted with phrases including “no more genocide,” “decolonize,” and “land back.”
Protesters in Chicago attempted to tear down a statue of former President William McKinley the day before Thanksgiving using a rope tied to a car but were unsuccessful. As president, McKinley signed into law the Curtis Act of 1898, which broke up five tribal governments across the Midwest and took roughly 90 million acres of land from Native Americans.
The Washington Examiner reached out to NDN Collective for further comment.
