Site search
sponsored by
Home
News
ENLARGE
Published Caption: None
Four years of hard work on the part of former Fallon Assemblywoman Marcia de Braga will come to fruition today when a statue of 19th century Native American Nevada leader Sarah Winnemucca is installed in the U.S. Capitol Building.
"It's wonderful news that all of our efforts to have Sarah Winnemucca's statue erected in Washington have finally paid off," said de Braga, who sponsored the 1991 bill in the Nevada Legislature authorizing the selection of the noted Native American's statue to be erected in the Capitol's Statuary Hall.
Following the approval by the Legislature and governor four years ago, a selection committee was organized to locate and commission a sculptor to craft the statue, she said.
After interviewing many candidates, the committee chose Benjamin Victor for the assignment.
He designed and sculpted in bronze the six-foot statue of Winnemucca which will be unveiled and installed today in Statuary Hall which, since 1960, has housed the statue of Patrick McCarran, a Nevada U.S. senator from 1930 until his death in 1954 in Hawthorne while delivering a political address at the El Capitan Club.
"It's wonderful news that all of our efforts to have Sarah Winnemucca's statue erected in Washington have finally paid off," said de Braga, who sponsored the 1991 bill in the Nevada Legislature authorizing the selection of the noted Native American's statue to be erected in the Capitol's Statuary Hall.
Following the approval by the Legislature and governor four years ago, a selection committee was organized to locate and commission a sculptor to craft the statue, she said.
After interviewing many candidates, the committee chose Benjamin Victor for the assignment.
He designed and sculpted in bronze the six-foot statue of Winnemucca which will be unveiled and installed today in Statuary Hall which, since 1960, has housed the statue of Patrick McCarran, a Nevada U.S. senator from 1930 until his death in 1954 in Hawthorne while delivering a political address at the El Capitan Club.
Each state is allowed two statues in the U.S. Capitol building, and for many years there had been conjecture as to whom the second statue would represent until de Braga proposed the Sarah Winnemucca legislation. Following the Legislature's approval for the Winnemucca statue, several Nevada organizations spearheaded efforts to raise funds for the statue, as the Legislature appropriated no money.
Led by the Nevada Women's History Project, approximately $200,000 was raised to pay Victor, de Braga said.
"Sarah Winnemucca was my choice for the statue because she was Nevada's first public woman, a Paiute who founded schools, wrote books, and traveled to Washington on many occasions to successfully lobby Congress on behalf of her people," de Braga added.
The ceremony today, which will be held at noon Washington, D.C. time, will be covered by C-SPAN and will be attended by all five Nevada congressional representatives, leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and Winnemucca's great-grandniece, Louise Tannheimer, 86, of Portola, Calif.
Tannheimer was chosen to represent the Winnemucca family and the Paiute tribe because Winnemucca, although she was married three times, had no children.
Although Winnemucca (1844-1891) had been raised to fear white people, she was self-educated and learned English, Spanish and three Native American dialects after traveling throughout the West with her grandfather, Chief Truckee, who assisted Gen. John C. Fremont in freeing California from Spanish rule, and her father, Chief Winnemucca, who also joined white politicians and military figures to seek peaceful solutions to white and Native American disputes.
Led by the Nevada Women's History Project, approximately $200,000 was raised to pay Victor, de Braga said.
"Sarah Winnemucca was my choice for the statue because she was Nevada's first public woman, a Paiute who founded schools, wrote books, and traveled to Washington on many occasions to successfully lobby Congress on behalf of her people," de Braga added.
The ceremony today, which will be held at noon Washington, D.C. time, will be covered by C-SPAN and will be attended by all five Nevada congressional representatives, leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and Winnemucca's great-grandniece, Louise Tannheimer, 86, of Portola, Calif.
Tannheimer was chosen to represent the Winnemucca family and the Paiute tribe because Winnemucca, although she was married three times, had no children.
Although Winnemucca (1844-1891) had been raised to fear white people, she was self-educated and learned English, Spanish and three Native American dialects after traveling throughout the West with her grandfather, Chief Truckee, who assisted Gen. John C. Fremont in freeing California from Spanish rule, and her father, Chief Winnemucca, who also joined white politicians and military figures to seek peaceful solutions to white and Native American disputes.
Statuary Hall, which since 1864 has housed marble and bronze figures representing leading figures from the nation's states, will contain 98 statues with the installation of Winnemucca's statue today.
Only New Mexico and Wyoming lack two statues. The most recent statue to be placed in Statuary Hall is that of Sacagawea, representing North Dakota, a Shoshone who was the interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1804 and 1805.
She also served as the expedition's guide and has been honored by having a river, peak, mountain pass, and monuments in North Dakota, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho named for her.
With the inclusion of the Sacagawea and Winnemucca statues, eight women will now be represented in once all-male dominated Statuary Hall.
When Nevada's Sen. McCarran statue was unveiled, and dedicated on March 23, 1960, speakers at the ceremony included Cardinal Francis Spellman, Nevada senators Alan Bible and Howard Cannon, the state's sole Representative Walter Baring, Gov. Grant Sawyer, Lt. Gov. Rex Bell, Senate Majority Leader (and future, president) Lyndon Johnson, and Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen.
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate's minority leader, said Sarah Winnemucca's statue "will be a welcome sight and I am proud that she will represent our state in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection."
Only New Mexico and Wyoming lack two statues. The most recent statue to be placed in Statuary Hall is that of Sacagawea, representing North Dakota, a Shoshone who was the interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1804 and 1805.
She also served as the expedition's guide and has been honored by having a river, peak, mountain pass, and monuments in North Dakota, Oregon, Montana, and Idaho named for her.
With the inclusion of the Sacagawea and Winnemucca statues, eight women will now be represented in once all-male dominated Statuary Hall.
When Nevada's Sen. McCarran statue was unveiled, and dedicated on March 23, 1960, speakers at the ceremony included Cardinal Francis Spellman, Nevada senators Alan Bible and Howard Cannon, the state's sole Representative Walter Baring, Gov. Grant Sawyer, Lt. Gov. Rex Bell, Senate Majority Leader (and future, president) Lyndon Johnson, and Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen.
Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate's minority leader, said Sarah Winnemucca's statue "will be a welcome sight and I am proud that she will represent our state in the U.S. Capitol's National Statuary Hall Collection."
Nevada Sen. John Ensign stated, "Sarah Winnemucca was a tireless advocate for Native Americans, a dedicated teacher, and a noted author and educator."
Former Assemblywoman de Braga said that Winnemucca had traveled the state seeking justice and education for Native Americans, including visits to Churchill and Pershing counties, and established a school for Indian children in Lovelock.
De Braga stated that in 1991, when her bill passed the Assembly and the Senate authorizing the statue of Winnemucca be approved, the Native American leader's great-grandniece Louise Tannheimer who will attend the Washington ceremony today, was present at the State Capital in Carson City.
De Braga said Tannheimer told her following the approving legislation that a "good omen" that day had occurred just before the final vote had been taken.
"Louis told me that as she was entering the Capitol Building, she saw an eagle feather lying near its entrance," de Braga remembers. "That feather will bring us good fortune today," de Braga recalls Louise Tannheimer telling her at the time.
Today, 45 years after the installation of Sen. McCarran's statue as the first to represent the state of Nevada in Statuary Hall, de Braga agrees with Tannheimer's prediction. "Yes, it was a very good omen," de Braga said Tuesday.
Former Assemblywoman de Braga said that Winnemucca had traveled the state seeking justice and education for Native Americans, including visits to Churchill and Pershing counties, and established a school for Indian children in Lovelock.
De Braga stated that in 1991, when her bill passed the Assembly and the Senate authorizing the statue of Winnemucca be approved, the Native American leader's great-grandniece Louise Tannheimer who will attend the Washington ceremony today, was present at the State Capital in Carson City.
De Braga said Tannheimer told her following the approving legislation that a "good omen" that day had occurred just before the final vote had been taken.
"Louis told me that as she was entering the Capitol Building, she saw an eagle feather lying near its entrance," de Braga remembers. "That feather will bring us good fortune today," de Braga recalls Louise Tannheimer telling her at the time.
Today, 45 years after the installation of Sen. McCarran's statue as the first to represent the state of Nevada in Statuary Hall, de Braga agrees with Tannheimer's prediction. "Yes, it was a very good omen," de Braga said Tuesday.
