Colorado Capitol's Civil War Statue That Was Knocked Down By Protesters To Be Replaced With Native American Sculpture

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DENVER (CBS4) - A bronze statue that was knocked over in Denver earlier this year during the racial injustice protests at the Colorado State Capitol will be replaced. A sculpture of a Native American woman mourning the atrocities of the Sand Creek Massacre will be placed in the location where the statue stood.

(credit: CBS)

Colorado Public Radio reports the Capitol Building Advisory Committee voted 7-2 on Friday in favor of the new sculpture after hearing from representatives of the tribes that suffered at Sand Creek in eastern Colorado 156 years ago.

The statue that was knocked over on June 25 is named "On Guard" and it depicts a Union soldier from the Civil War. It was erected July 24, 1909, and included the name of the colonel who orchestrated the massacre. The monument is now housed at the History Colorado Center. It is damaged, and has paint from the protests and riots on it. Much of the damage and vandalism has been corrected. However, the museum staff displayed it in the condition they received it.