TAGHKANIC — Owners of the West Taghkanic Diner plan to remove its neon sign depicting a Native American chief.
The sign shows a Mohican tribal chief wearing a Great Plains-style headdress.
The sign has been up at the diner since it opened almost 65 years ago. The diner was constructed to provide a gathering spot for residents and passers-by to have a meal.
A committee of investors that owns the diner is displaying a letter for customers referencing the decision to end the use of the sign. According to the letter, the decision is based on not using people as parodies.
“We feel it’s time to reconsider our use of the image,” according to the letter. “We know that people are not caricatures and don’t want to use people’s images without their input or consent.”
According to the letter, the owners ensure that they do not want to erase Indigenous history by removing the image.
“We will continue to work with the Mohicans on how they want to be represented in the space,” according to the letter.
In response, the owners have worked with a local organization, the Forge Project, and the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation of Wisconsin to get their input on the sign.
“The Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation has always maintained a connection to its Eastern homelands, and tribal members have continuously returned since the 1850s to protect burial sites or other cultural areas or to pursue land claims,” according to its website.
The Forge Project is a Native-led initiative centered on Indigenous art, decolonializing education and supporting leaders in culture, food security and land justice.
Launched in 2021, the Forge Project serves shared communities’ social and cultural landscape through a funded fellowship program for Indigenous culture workers, including those working in food, land justice and art.
The Forge Project sent the following statement about removing the Native American sign at the diner: “Forge Project supports this decision and hopes that other businesses in the region will look to West Taghkanic Diner as a model for rethinking the types of images circulated of Native people and not spreading false and harmful stereotypes.”
The decision to remove the sign has raised some public outcry.
George Adams of Columbia County said the sign is part of history and should be preserved.
“The sign isn’t’ bothering anybody,” Adams said. “Why fix it if it’s not broken?”
Jake Malone of Taghkanic said the sign should stay as it is.
“Why go and tamper with things?” Malone said. “The sign has been up since I was a kid. I don’t understand why they want to change it now.”
Tamera Alfred of Taghkanic said change is necessary for society to evolve.
“Times change, and people change, as society evolves,” Alfred said. “We have to evolve as people. “Things that were acceptable 30 or 40 years ago aren’t acceptable now.”
Robert Barnes of Columbia County was in the parking lot of the diner and said sometimes change can be a good thing.
“Everything can’t stay the same forever,” Barnes said. “Change is important. You have to move on with the times or get left in the past. I don’t have an issue with the sign coming down, and those who have a problem just have to deal with it. I’m not going to stop coming to the diner because of a sign — that’s so stupid.”
A representative from Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican Nation could not be reached for comment for this story.