MN Lt. Gov. Posts Quote On 'White Supremacy' Of Mount Rushmore

TWIN CITIES, MN — Minnesota Republicans are attacking Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan over a quote she shared on social media about Mount Rushmore being a "symbol of white supremacy."

Flanagan is a citizen of the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe. She's also the highest-ranking Native woman elected to executive office in the country.

On her Instagram stories Monday, Flanagan shared the following quote from activist Nick Tilsen:

"Mount Rushmore is a symbol of white supremacy, of structural racism that's still alive and well in society today. It's an injustice to actively steal Indigenous people's land, then carve the white faces of the colonizers who committed genocide."

Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka and other Minnesota Republicans criticized Flanagan for the post. Others on social media said they agreed with it.

Jennifer Carnahan, the first Asian American to serve as chair of the Minnesota Republican Party, wrote on Twitter that "if racism were as bad as this post claims, no people of diverse backgrounds would ever hold a position of great leadership, including myself."

Mount Rushmore, among other American statues and monuments, rose to center of a national dialogue about confronting the nation's past following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

On Friday, President Donald Trump delivered a fiery speech in front of Mount Rushmore, condemning "angry mobs" that take down "statues of our Founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities."

The Christopher Columbus sculpture outside the Minnesota State Capitol was one of the dozens of statues across the country that activists — citing racial injustice — toppled in June.

"I can't say I'm sad the statue of Christopher Columbus is gone," Flanagan said last month.

"I'm not. All Minnesotans should feel welcome at the Minnesota State Capitol, and our state is long overdue for a hard look at the symbols, statues, and icons that were created without the input of many of our communities."

She added that "I have often reflected on the fact that I could see a statue honoring that legacy from my office window. It was a constant reminder that our systems were not built by or for Native people or people of color, but in many cases, to exclude, erase, and eliminate us. Tonight, I'm thinking of all the Native children who might now feel more welcome on the grounds and in the halls of their state government."