"Holding Court" John A. Macdonald Statue

Tell us what the Holding Court statue means to you?

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  Put Him Out to Pasture

  by Shannon Helm, about 6 years ago

  I am honestly baffled as to why we haveto have an in-depth public consultation to determine whether or not a statue of a perpetrator of genocide should be honoured outside our Public Library. “Holding Court” should absolutely be removed from the Main Street in Picton. It is revolting, he literally legislated genocide.

  
  

  My understanding is that Public Art is intended as a celebration of shared values. What is this statue saying about our community and our values? That we celebrate genocide? I recently read a “letter to the editor” in a local... Continue reading

  I am honestly baffled as to why we haveto have an in-depth public consultation to determine whether or not a statue of a perpetrator of genocide should be honoured outside our Public Library. “Holding Court” should absolutely be removed from the Main Street in Picton. It is revolting, he literally legislated genocide.

  
  

  My understanding is that Public Art is intended as a celebration of shared values. What is this statue saying about our community and our values? That we celebrate genocide? I recently read a “letter to the editor” in a local newspaper which essentially denied that genocide could ever happen in Canada. In the past 5 years, TWO National Inquiries into the treatment of Indigenous people in Canada have issued Final Reports, and both reached the same conclusion: genocide. In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission termed it “cultural genocide”, but Canadians seemed to find that confusing. The subsequent National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls(2019) used language that all Canadians should be able to understand, simply: “genocide”. These National Inquiries were conducted by Canada's best and brightest; in other words, our most morally upstanding and educated citizens. Accepting the fact that genocide happened in Canada, and that genocide continues to this day, is sadly the work that every Canadian must do. I personally view all arguments in favour of keeping the statue of John A Macdonald on Main Street as defenses of genocide.

  
  

  Now we are left with the dilemna of where on Earth should this statue go? I think an obvious choice would be a museum; however, it would seem that our local museums are not interested- perhaps because a five year old statue is not actually historical in itself, or the history behind this statue is inaccurate, or perhaps because the curators, as historians, are very aware of the genocidal legacy of Macdonald. I imagine that it is for all of these reasons. One national museum that our community could possibly give the statue to is the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. In regards to genocide, this museum “recognizes the colonial experience in Canada, from first contact to the present, as genocide”. This museum has a permanent exhibition entitled Truth and Reconciliation, and they display a variety of items that different individuals and groups of people offer as gestures of Reconciliation. I think that “Holding Court”could be a very meaningful piece in such a setting. We could contextualize our changing/changed relationship with Macdonald as a community, and confirm our shared desire for true Reconciliation.

  
  

  If it is indeed impossible to find a museum that is willing to display the monument, which may be the case, I have another idea. I imagine that we are not the only community that is wondering what to do with these public art projects that are now being rejected by the public. So if they can't find a home in a museum, I propose we put them out to pasture, right here in PEC. We could make a corral, where the statues could perhaps peacefully stand for their 20 000 year life expectancy. I imagine them surrounded by Indigenous plants, with walls or fencing to keep them from escaping and spreading their messages of white supremacy to a community that has chosen to be consciously Anti-Racist. I see the entrance being through a simple small building, like a farm shed, filled with historical context that would explain why these monuments are being interned in the Pasture of Political Shame. Well, maybe I would work on the name a little more.

  
  

  If we can't find a museum or a pasture for this statue, I think it would be ok if a private citizen wished to take “Holding Court” to their private residence, where JAM could stand by the fire in the drawing room, gathering dust out of the public eye. If we could only find a community member in PEC who would be willing to take this genocidal legislator home (perhaps he could go home with a “Friend”)...

  
  

  Also, I will add here a link to a petition that I wrote asking our Mayor and Council to remove the statue of John A Macdonald from Main Street. This petition was circulated locally (rather than nationally) and at last check had 882 signatures. Please feel free to show your support and add your signature. Let's make our public spaces feel safe for all.

  https://www.change.org/thatjamstatue

  
  

  Well, that's it, I've Had My Say!
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  What are we commemorating?

  by Andrew Faulkner, about 6 years ago

  As a resident of Picton, I find myself rather embarrassed by the John A. Macdonald for several reasons.

  Many County residents have already used their deputations to discuss the fact that Macdonald was an avid racist, notable even among his contemporaries for his disdain for Indigenous people. I will not re-document the overwhelming human suffering that resulted from his creation of the residential school system, nor will I delve into the countless examples of genocide that he willfully enacted in Canada's early years.

  What I will state is that our first prime minister has already sealed himself in the history... Continue reading

  As a resident of Picton, I find myself rather embarrassed by the John A. Macdonald for several reasons.

  Many County residents have already used their deputations to discuss the fact that Macdonald was an avid racist, notable even among his contemporaries for his disdain for Indigenous people. I will not re-document the overwhelming human suffering that resulted from his creation of the residential school system, nor will I delve into the countless examples of genocide that he willfully enacted in Canada's early years.

  What I will state is that our first prime minister has already sealed himself in the history books—nobody will learn about him for the first time from a statue on Main Street—and I do not want to see his awful legacy celebrated every time I walk to the library. Each time I pass "Holding Court", it makes me a little ashamed of my otherwise big-hearted town.

  The statue is also embarrassing on a smaller scale. It doesn't even commemorate the big-ticket nation-building items that are trotted out in Macdonald's defence. Instead, it memorializes him beating a minor charge in court. Do we want to be known as the municipality that celebrates being the place where John A. was non-definitively guilty of a minor legal offence?

  I believe the statue should be removed. (Or perhaps we can replace it with a statue of the next person to get out of a jaywalking ticket for not crossing at one of the crosswalks.)

  However, if the the Prince Edward Heritage Advisory Committee decides to keep the statue in an attempt to commemorate history, at the very least let’s do it properly. Should the statue remain, let’s note the full scope of McDonald’s statecraft—building Canada as a nation by way of brutalizing a vast population of people, with truly awful repercussions for generations. If we want to celebrate how many miles of train tracks he built, let's also note how many bodies he buried along the way. It's history, after all.
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  It expresses the minority politics of heritage extremism as a defence against the truths in the emerging TRR.

  by Steve Staniek, about 6 years ago
  Since I moved here 10 years ago, I began to study colonial and post colonial Canada, as part of the British Empire. To me, the Macdonald statue represents colonial and post colonial crimes against humanity as revealed in the TRR. It took the Spirit of Truth, over 150 years to fight its way bravely out of the dark delusions that opposed it, like white Christian supremacy, that kept everyone ignorant of the religious terrorism being perpetrated against 150,000 native children over 150 years. It is indeed Canada's hidden indigenous holocaust, and this horror must be recognized, owned, and indeed embraced... Continue reading

  Since I moved here 10 years ago, I began to study colonial and post colonial Canada, as part of the British Empire. To me, the Macdonald statue represents colonial and post colonial crimes against humanity as revealed in the TRR. It took the Spirit of Truth, over 150 years to fight its way bravely out of the dark delusions that opposed it, like white Christian supremacy, that kept everyone ignorant of the religious terrorism being perpetrated against 150,000 native children over 150 years. It is indeed Canada's hidden indigenous holocaust, and this horror must be recognized, owned, and indeed embraced as our new history, as Canada's shadow side, before real healing can begin.. Macdonald became the legal source of many generational traumas that need to heal before we can move ahead.

  Macdonald's victims are many, and hail from coast to coast to coast. His legacy is in the form of millions of destroyed lives to this very day. The child suicide rate is the highest on first nations reserves.

  Any post-colonial victims walking on Picton's Main Street, would be faced with the gaunty abomination.

  Please respect and protect the rest of the 99% in this County that do not share your obvious heritage extremism, by remove the statue to a safe place where only those who still self identify as British Christians can still enjoy it.
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  Totally Inappropriate Location

  by Marc and Donna Saulnier, about 6 years ago

  If people truly believe that this is a work of art, it should be placed in a gallery or museum where those who wish to see it can pay to see it. To place it in such a prominent location where the sight of it cannot be avoided is an action without care and consideration for others.

  Honouring genocide is a reprehensible act and cannot be buried in the notion of protecting history. The Indigenous people were on this land long before many of us and deserve respect.

  If the misguided attempt to leave the statue in place is successful... Continue reading

  If people truly believe that this is a work of art, it should be placed in a gallery or museum where those who wish to see it can pay to see it. To place it in such a prominent location where the sight of it cannot be avoided is an action without care and consideration for others.

  Honouring genocide is a reprehensible act and cannot be buried in the notion of protecting history. The Indigenous people were on this land long before many of us and deserve respect.

  If the misguided attempt to leave the statue in place is successful, then your group can at least commit to accept and leave any subsequent physical damage “as is”. Removing the paint is an attempt to hide the truth about the community response. If someone adds more paint, or removes the head or knocks the statue over, that is how it should remain. That is truth when reconciliation has been ignored.
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  Let's do what is right, not what is easiest

  by Christine Renaud, about 6 years ago

  I would like to outline five reasons why the Macdonald statue on Picton’s Main street needs to be removed and, at least, relocated to within a museum space or inside the courthouse with additional information to provide context of Macdonald’s racist policies.

  First, and I had raised this objection to the statue when it was originally erected, the creation of the statue as a piece of public art was never approved or decided upon in a democratic way with input from our community. Had that happened, we might not be where we are, spending countless hours and energy on what... Continue reading

  I would like to outline five reasons why the Macdonald statue on Picton’s Main street needs to be removed and, at least, relocated to within a museum space or inside the courthouse with additional information to provide context of Macdonald’s racist policies.

  First, and I had raised this objection to the statue when it was originally erected, the creation of the statue as a piece of public art was never approved or decided upon in a democratic way with input from our community. Had that happened, we might not be where we are, spending countless hours and energy on what needs to be done.

  Secondly, this statue is deeply offensive to many people, grossly disrespectful in light of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s report and to Indigenous peoples. It is also offensive to many non-indigenous people. Many of us are striving to recognize and work toward a decolonization mindset, a path to healing all the wrongs, and the removal of statues of those who historically contributed to the theft of land and intergenerational trauma is the least we can do.

  Thirdly, the argument that he was the first Prime Minister and spent some time in Prince Edward County is so shallow in its view that it is both beyond understanding and deeply troubling. The horrific policies enacted by Macdonald, well recorded by experts and dedicated historians, should easily be enough to admit that his racism, and the genocide he upheld, make a statue of him on our Main Street unacceptable to anyone who has the decency to admit and take seriously those realities. We must work towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and confront our own biases and white supremacy with actions that are meaningful. Removal of this statue would be a first step.

  Additionally, I make two more points and these are more questions we should ask ourselves.

  Why do some people equate removal of a statue with erasing history? Any thinking person can see and understand that the removal of a statue does not erase history. It cannot. But the insistence of keeping a statue that reveres - and yes, statues are built of people said to be admired - a man who was the architect of so much injustice, is to make a conscious decision to deny the harms, or if not deny them, to diminish and trivialize them. The often quoted “he was a man of his time” doesn’t hold water. Racism then was no different than racism now. Unacceptable and deplorable.

  And the last question we need to ask is: who are we as a community? Are we apologists for historical wrongs, more interested in keeping a statue because a group of people don’t want change, don’t want to confront the reality of what the statue represents, and it’s just easier to put up a plaque to soften the injustices? Or are we a progressive, courageous, caring community?

  Let’s not do what is simply easier, what might be uncomfortable as we face our past and white fragility. Let’s instead do what’s right. Remove the Macdonald statue from Main street.

  
  
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  We can do better!

  by Lenny Epstein, about 6 years ago
  I was on our municipal council when we voted to accept the gift of the Sir John A statue and place it on Main St. Growing up in Canada, even in the 80s and 90s, we were taught to lionize our Country’s first prime minister. His policies led to confederation and the establishment of nascent country. It is sadly a narrative that didn’t tell the real story which is that in order to build this nation, Sir John A Macdonald and his peers undertook a genocide we still haven’t reckoned with and created racist policies to create the Aryan nation... Continue reading

  I was on our municipal council when we voted to accept the gift of the Sir John A statue and place it on Main St. Growing up in Canada, even in the 80s and 90s, we were taught to lionize our Country’s first prime minister. His policies led to confederation and the establishment of nascent country. It is sadly a narrative that didn’t tell the real story which is that in order to build this nation, Sir John A Macdonald and his peers undertook a genocide we still haven’t reckoned with and created racist policies to create the Aryan nation that Sir John A openly called for. As the layers are peeled back and we open our eyes to the truth we have before us, we have an opportunity to do right. Having listened and learned, I know now that this public statue affects those who are forced to face an image of the of the leader who caused deep harm to their Family, culture, and place in our society. Harms that are still ongoing to this day. Accepting this “gift” of a statue was a mistake which, I did not fully comprehend when I voted to accept it. We can do better. I believe that we must move the statue to a location where people must “opt in” to see it to avoid placing our indigenous sisters, brothers, neighbours and friends in a position where they must face the “Indian Killer” on a daily basis in the public square. Wherever that is, it must be contextualized to explain that the image of our nation’s founding father has not told the true story. Let’s create public art in our town that celebrates the best of community. Again, we can do better!
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  Symbols of oppression have no place on main street

  by Will Loach, about 6 years ago

  In its current form, without an overt expression of the truth of his legacy, this statue does not contribute to anyone's understanding of Canada's history. Melt it and put it to use as a boat-anchor, or if it's so precious, put it in a museum with a plaque that tells the whole story. There is not much more to be said; a decision by council to leave it as-is would be a disgrace.

  In its current form, without an overt expression of the truth of his legacy, this statue does not contribute to anyone's understanding of Canada's history. Melt it and put it to use as a boat-anchor, or if it's so precious, put it in a museum with a plaque that tells the whole story. There is not much more to be said; a decision by council to leave it as-is would be a disgrace.
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  Statues remind us to remember

  by Wendy Dunning , about 6 years ago

  History shows us that Sir John A. Macdonald was a powerful contributor in shaping and building this nation - that fact is undisputed.

  We know now (sadly, in social hindsight) that some (not all) of his contributions were unjust, unethical, prejudiced and harmful in the very long term. We would be remiss to not remember the shameful aspects of what our country was built on, alongside the great ones.

  The removal of the statue erases the possibility of telling this whole story - good, bad and ugly, about this particular individual and his role in Canadian history. Leave the statue... Continue reading

  History shows us that Sir John A. Macdonald was a powerful contributor in shaping and building this nation - that fact is undisputed.

  We know now (sadly, in social hindsight) that some (not all) of his contributions were unjust, unethical, prejudiced and harmful in the very long term. We would be remiss to not remember the shameful aspects of what our country was built on, alongside the great ones.

  The removal of the statue erases the possibility of telling this whole story - good, bad and ugly, about this particular individual and his role in Canadian history. Leave the statue but update the narrative to provide a balanced and factual account of his contributions so that we never forget and we never repeat the same.
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  Disrespect

  by Rosalind Place, about 6 years ago

  We should respect the wishes of the Indigenous peoples of this land and not cause further anguish and suffering. By leaving this statue in place we are discounting the legitimacy of those wishes and the reality of their continued suffering.

  We should respect the wishes of the Indigenous peoples of this land and not cause further anguish and suffering. By leaving this statue in place we are discounting the legitimacy of those wishes and the reality of their continued suffering.
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  Statues can teach.

  by Andrew Janikowski, about 6 years ago
  This is the man who was responsible for this country we call Canada. Most of the articles of our constitution were written by this man who had to convince others to give the concept of Canada a go. Can we let go of this fact? That is the reality of his positive contribution. There is a lot of negatives about him as well - not to be denied. Let’s leave this statute in a prominent place and use it as a teaching moment how so much good can exist with so much bad.

  As an aside - the concentration camps... Continue reading

  This is the man who was responsible for this country we call Canada. Most of the articles of our constitution were written by this man who had to convince others to give the concept of Canada a go. Can we let go of this fact? That is the reality of his positive contribution. There is a lot of negatives about him as well - not to be denied. Let’s leave this statute in a prominent place and use it as a teaching moment how so much good can exist with so much bad.

  As an aside - the concentration camps of Nazi Germany are still around. They have not been removed - at the request of the Jewish nation - so that we will never forget. Interesting how radically different our approach to this man is compared to the Nazi camps.