Cherokee Nation unveils Resurgence statue

Cherokee Nation Celebrates Heritage With 'Resurgence'The Cherokee Nation is celebrating the tribe's heritage in an artistic way. Unveiled Friday morning was the statue called Resurgence. It represents the Cherokee people's ability to overcome adversity with pride and integrity.

Artist Daniel HorseChief created the statue which shows a Cherokee stickball player leaping for the goal.Comment:  We've seen many statues of half-naked Indians. And many statues of Indians looking up reverently: praying, shooting an arrow into the sky, holding a hawk aloft, etc. Which implies how spiritual Indians supposedly are. No clothes, no tools, just a primitive Indian and his Creator. Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Resurgence is one of the few statues of this type that I like. Why? For starters, the Indian is half-naked for a reason: because he's playing stickball. And not because he's a savage. In fact, he could be a modern stickball player who's dressed for a hot, grueling match.

Also, he's lifting his sticks and looking up for a reason: to intercept the ball. The idea of rising or surging--i.e., resurgence--is implicit rather than explicit. The stickball player is reaching for the sky because it's part of the game. It just happens to be a metaphor for seeking, advancing, and achieving.

For more on Native statues, see Coast Salish Statue in Tacoma Plaza and Ideas for Ishi Statue.

Below:  "Two views of the statue Resurgence."