Tuesday, Mayor Ben Walsh announced the 23 members of the Columbus Circle Action Group who will decide the future of the statue and the area.

What You Need To Know

  • Mayor Ben Walsh announces 23 members of the Columbus Circle Action Group.
  • With four members of the Onondaga Community, some locals are worried their voice will be silenced
  • Mayor Walsh says Interfaith Works will Serve as a Mediator ensuring every voice is adequately represented.
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“We wanted to include some of the participants from our previous dialogue circles. We also wanted a representative group that represented different parts of the community as well as different perspectives,” Walsh said.

Members of the Resilient Indigenous Action Collective, Responsible for the Columbus Rally, say they’re worried the makeup of the group will continue to silence native voices.

“Three out of 23 is not equitable, that means their voices are underrepresented. They should actually be represented more because this issue is on their land and impacts indigenous people the most,” Ionah Scully, member of the Resilient Indigenous Action Collective.

“We understand for marginalized communities often times you have to overcompensate for the fact that many of the voices in those constituencies have been silenced,” said Walsh.

Walsh says this history of silencing was taken into consideration and he’s confident in their ability to hear every voice. A confidence that comes from Interfaith works, who will serve as a moderator during the meetings.

Members of the Resilient Indigenous Action Collective say in order for Indigenous people to be properly heard, there needs to be a diverse group of native people not just a diverse group of people.

“We need elders and we also need youth who have different experiences who are interacting in different ways,” said Scully.

They say there is one group that should be represented.

“They need some construction workers there .. Ultimately we hope it’s not a dialogue, we hope it’s a decision about how to take it down,” said Scully.

As far as the decision-making process.

“I expect a number of potential proposals to be advanced and ultimately recommended. We believe the process we’ve invested in will lead to change that will ultimately lead to healing in the community,” said Walsh.

Walsh says the committee will start meeting this month. They plan to have a decision by the end of summer.