SerraStatue_SanRafael_IMG_3873-1
Indigenous People's Day - October 12, 2020
Mission San Rafael Arcángel
San Rafael, California
On Indigenous People's Day, local native Coast Miwoks and allies rallied in front of the statue of Junípero Serra at Saint Raphael’s Catholic Church in Marin County, CA, calling for the removal of the statue and acknowledgment of Serra's brutal legacy. After numerous impassioned speeches, the statue was covered with red paint and ropes were used to pull the statue down. Similar actions had been taken across the state and country in recent months in a push to end the practice of glorifying brutal colonizers and proponents of slavery.
Serra was a Spanish Franciscan priest who is credited with establishing and overseeing the California Mission system that brutally enslaved the thriving native populations that had inhabited the land for thousands of years. The Spanish missions not only stole indigenous lands but sought to erase native languages and cultures. During this period (l769-1834), 37,000 California natives died at missions as a result of disease, starvation, overwork or mistreatment. Despite this history, statues honoring Junípero Serra have been erected all over California, and over considerable protest, Pope Francis conferred sainthood on Serra on September 23, 2015.
Following the toppling of this statue, 5 people were charged with felony vandalism at the request of the church (which also unsuccessfully sought a charge of 'hate crime'). 4 women identify as indigenous and 2 as baptized in the Catholic church.
SerraStatue_SanRafael_IMG_3873-1
Indigenous People's Day - October 12, 2020
Mission San Rafael Arcángel
San Rafael, California
On Indigenous People's Day, local native Coast Miwoks and allies rallied in front of the statue of Junípero Serra at Saint Raphael’s Catholic Church in Marin County, CA, calling for the removal of the statue and acknowledgment of Serra's brutal legacy. After numerous impassioned speeches, the statue was covered with red paint and ropes were used to pull the statue down. Similar actions had been taken across the state and country in recent months in a push to end the practice of glorifying brutal colonizers and proponents of slavery.
Serra was a Spanish Franciscan priest who is credited with establishing and overseeing the California Mission system that brutally enslaved the thriving native populations that had inhabited the land for thousands of years. The Spanish missions not only stole indigenous lands but sought to erase native languages and cultures. During this period (l769-1834), 37,000 California natives died at missions as a result of disease, starvation, overwork or mistreatment. Despite this history, statues honoring Junípero Serra have been erected all over California, and over considerable protest, Pope Francis conferred sainthood on Serra on September 23, 2015.
Following the toppling of this statue, 5 people were charged with felony vandalism at the request of the church (which also unsuccessfully sought a charge of 'hate crime'). 4 women identify as indigenous and 2 as baptized in the Catholic church.