Photo by Paul R. Burley – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=94250424
Five centuries before Columbus made his journey to the New World, a party of Viking explorers led by Leif Eiriksson set sail from Greenland westward to the North American continent on a voyage of discovery. After the successful journey, word traveled back via Iceland of a landmass rich and fertile with wildlife of all kinds, forests, grazing land, and berries and grapes. The Vikings called this Vinland. The sagas inform the Vikings did not expand beyond the settlement, commonly known today as L’Anse aux Meadows, on the Island of Newfoundland. Also, the Viking clan returned to the east of Greenland after a short period. Thus, the Vikings never took land from the Native people and never decimated the population. In addition, Leif Eiriksson and his partner voyagers never set foot in the land now known as the United States of America.
In 2020, the City of Chicago, under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s leadership, commenced the “Chicago Monuments Project” shortly after removing several controversial statues, such as Christopher Columbus, at night with no advance warning to the public. The Italian-American community cried “foul” while others believed public commemorations of those who owned slaves, honored white supremacy, etc. should be removed. Lightfoot and unknown personnel created a list of over 40 statues and other commemorative public displays to review their worthiness in an alleged violation of the Open Meetings Act.
I questioned why the statue of Leif Erickson (the common spelling issued at Ellis Island), located in Garfield Park, garnered the scrutiny of the Mayor. I emailed 1st Ward Alderman Daniel LaSpata as both he and I attended North Park University in Chicago (the athletic teams are called the “Vikings”). I wrote that if the City of Chicago decided the Erickson statue should be removed, a viable resting place would be our alma mater, which was founded by Swedish immigrants. The statue itself received scant attention in the commission’s final report, issued earlier this year.
https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/city/depts/dca/cmp/cmpreport.pdf
Leif appears in the report as only a thumbnail picture and does not register as controversial. Given the final report, I again emailed Alderman LaSpata. He replied, “I did check in with the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Turns out there is no plan to move the statue at this time, although perhaps to clarify its signage as we reckon with what it is to have discovered America. I know that can feel like a small thing, but for those who trace their lineage to indigenous generations even before Leif I can see why the clarity matters. Should this position ever change I know that Leif would find good company with Lina Sandell on [North Park’s] campus.”
A few days after the email a statue of young Abraham Lincoln was splashed with red paint on Thanksgiving Day last week with the words “COLONIZER” and “LAND BACK” written below it. The protestors also wrote “Dakota 38,” which is a reference to the 38 Dakota Sioux who Lincoln ordered for execution due to their participation in the “Sioux Uprising” of 1862. These First People had the audacity (!) to challenge the forcible removal from their land and the effects of starvation. The hanging of 38 men in Minnesota represents the largest mass execution in U.S. history.
I personally believe all of the statues and commemorative displays should not be removed from public sight. Add signage to all of them to better inform the public of what truly occurred. How many people knew Lincoln oversaw the largest execution ever? How many people can even identify Leif Erickson, the explorer? Since he never set foot in the USA, I propose moving the statue to the North Park campus where it will be truly embraced as opposed to an ignored relic in Humboldt Park.
