COLUMBUS STATUE PLAN CRITICIZED

The head of the American Indian Law Alliance is taking aim at Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plans to nominate New York City’s statue of Christopher Columbus to the National Register of Historic Places. Betty Lyons said on Tuesday that the 1892 statue represents genocide, enslavement, exploitation of children and land grabs. She says the Democratic governor is insensitive to the concerns of 100,000 Indigenous peoples living in New York state. A city commission decided to keep the monument, adding markers for context.