Idaho tribal leaders view questionable murals

Leaders of four Idaho tribes were in Boise on Wednesday to view two controversial murals at an old courthouse.

The murals depict the capture and lynching of an Indian man. They are part of a series of 26 murals that were commissioned by the federal government in the 1940s..

Lawmakers are trying to decide what to do with the two murals because the vacant Ada County Courthouse will be used by the Legislature while the Capitol building is undergoing renovations. Some have suggested covernig them up or removing them.

Leaders of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe, the Nez Perce Tribe and the Coeur d'Alene Tribe had differing views on the images. But none wanted them destroyed or concealed. At the very least, tribal leaders said the murals could be placed elsewhere or the state could add interpretive signs.

Get the Story:
Tribes want to save murals (The Spokesman Review 1/18)
ID Indian leaders view lynching murals (AP 1/17)

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Tribal leaders to view controversal murals (1/11)
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Murals depicting lynching of Indian man an issue (4/11)
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