Idaho tribal leaders weigh in on courthouse murals

After viewing controversial murals in the Ada County Courthouse, slated to temporarily house the Idaho Legislature next year, members of the state’s tribes seemed to agree the paintings should be preserved – just not necessarily where they are now, reports S-R reporter Parker Howell.
North Idaho tribal representatives and lawmakers toured the courthouse Wednesday, part of an unprecedented move by legislators to ask the tribes what to do with the murals, the most contentious of which depicts a Native American man about to be hanged by armed whites.

Some native members of the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs said the lynching mural, while not based on a specific event in Idaho history, represents the oppression of their ancestors, while another said it is simply offensive.

Chief Allan, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and council vice chairman, said he favors removing the murals, or at least installing interpretive signs. If a guest came into his house and noticed something offensive, he would take it down, he said. Read Howell’s full story in today’s Spokesman-Review.