HANOVER, N.H. (AP) - A copper weather vane that depicts “an offensive image” of a Native American will be removed from the top of the main library at Dartmouth College, President Philip Hanlon said Monday.
The 600-pound weather vane, designed in 1928, shows a Native American man wearing feathers and smoking a long pipe seated on the ground in front of the college’s founder, Eleazar Wheelock. Historical records suggest a round shape behind Wheelock is a barrel of rum.
Students and alumni have been asking for the weather vane to be replaced, calling it racist and demeaning. On Friday, a Native American student group issued a statement saying the weather vane “flaunts a racist depiction in the face of all the meaningful and beautiful progress that has been made.”
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Hanlon said Monday the images do not reflect Dartmouth’s values. A working group will make recommendations for a replacement.
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