Monaghan statue a painful reminder

We implore the city of Spokane to remove the Monaghan statue. We are the fifth generation of our family to live in the Inland Northwest. We are also Samoan immigrants. We know there is a relatively small Polynesian community here, so we understand why few people know of U.S. military involvement in our paternal homeland, including how in 1899 American troops fired on innocent women and children in their efforts to expand U.S. imperial interests.

Frequently people object to statue removal with the argument that it is somehow “erasing history.” We argue it is our history that is erased by the presence of that statue. Our family’s homeland was subjected to over a century of military and political intervention by the U.S., Britain and Germany. In 1899, Ensign Monaghan took part in an unprovoked naval attack on our family’s island of Upolu that killed hundreds of Samoans defending their own land. Our plea to the community is not about Monaghan’s individual character, but about the implications of honoring him, and implicitly U.S. actions.

The only history learned from this statue is the reminder of a view of Samoans as “savages.” The insulting words and images displayed perpetuate damaging ideas about our people that have serious repercussions, as the “othering” of Samoans is linked to social and economic disparities. We ask our community to request that city leaders remove this unfortunate reminder of a painful chapter in our history.

Grace, Jacob and Iusitina Laumatia

Plummer, Idaho