San Francisco takes down statue some called racist

SAN FRANCISCO — A 19th-century statue near San Francisco’s City Hall that some said is racist and demeaning to Indigenous people was removed Friday and put into storage.

A group of Native Americans chanted, beat drums and burned sage as the workers used a crane to take down the statue depicting a Native American at the feet of a Spanish cowboy and a Catholic missionary. It was part of a group of statues depicting the founding of California.

Native American activists have tried to have the statue removed for decades. They renewed efforts last year after clashes broke out across the U.S. over Confederate monuments.

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Wednesday voted unanimously to remove the statue, which had been in its location for 124 years.

“I think we’re witnessing a moment in history where, commendably, San Francisco officials are doing the right thing to help rectify the mistreatment of Indigenous people,” Janeen Antoine, who is of Lakota heritage, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We’re very happy this is finally happening after decades of work and struggle.”

The statue will stay in storage until officials decide what to do with it, said San Francisco’s Arts Commission spokeswoman, Kate Patterson.

In Victoria, a statue of Canada’s first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, was removed from outside city hall in August. A Victoria city council committee, made up of Indigenous and non-Indigenous members, decided to remove the statue on the basis that it was a barrier to Indigenous people coming to city hall.

Macdonald was an architect of the residential schools system.