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Native American Lawmakers Want Confederate Monument Removed

Granite fountain in Helena park has been the subject of debate in recent years

By Tristan Scott

HELENA — Native American lawmakers in Montana are calling for the removal of a memorial to Confederate soldiers in the state’s capital city.

The granite fountain in Helena’s Hill Park has been the subject of debate in recent years, as other cities across the country decide the fate of monuments erected to honor the legacy of the Confederacy.

Lee Newspapers of Montana reports the request came in a letter signed by eight members of the Native American legislative caucus. It asserts that such monuments have “stood for segregation, secession, and slavery.”

The request follows weekend violence and a death at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

City officials previously have said they did not plan to remove the memorial, which was donated to the city in 1916 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. They plan to put up an interpretive sign.