State looks to recognize iconic Native American woman Sarah Winnemucca

By Yvonne Gonzalez

Published Thursday, April 13, 2017 | 2 a.m.

Updated Thursday, April 13, 2017 | 1:12 p.m.

A flower in one hand and a book in the other, Sarah Winnemucca’s sculpted presence in Washington, D.C., and Nevada pays tribute to a legacy that state lawmakers are looking to enhance.

Winnemucca is the first Native American woman to write a book, titled “Life Among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims” and published in 1883. In it, she describes seeing Western settlement in the 1800s.

“I was a very small child when the first white people came into our country,” she wrote. “They came like a lion, yes, like a roaring lion, and have continued so ever since, and I have never forgotten their first coming. My people were scattered at that time over nearly all the territory now known as Nevada.”

She worked to translate for her people and advocate on their behalf before the federal government, which broke promises and earned her a mixed reputation among Native Americans.

In the 125 years since her death, Nevada has marked her legacy with statues of her in Carson City, Las Vegas and Washington. The most recent effort is a bill that seeks to designate Oct. 16 as the state’s Sarah Winnemucca Day.

Former state senator and U.S. Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., honored the Nevada Women’s History Project on the House floor in March 2006 for the group’s work to bring the Winnemucca statues to fruition.

“The NWHP was the main factor in placing the statue, by raising the funds to make the statue and lobbying the Nevada Legislature to give Sarah this honor,” Porter said.

Assemblyman Edgar Flores, D-Las Vegas, on Tuesday presented the bill to designate a special day to the Assembly Government Affairs Committee. He was joined by Yerington Paiute Tribe Chairwoman Laurie Thom, who said she was present when the Winnemucca statue was dedicated about a decade ago.

“To be able to dedicate Oct. 16 would show a lot of the future generations of native Nevadan children that it is difficult to walk in both worlds, but it can be done,” Thom said Tuesday.

Sculptor Benjamin Victor is the artist behind the Winnemucca statue that sits in the Nevada Capitol and Washington as well as the miniature version at Las Vegas City Hall. Victor, now an artist in residence at Boise State University, was a student when he competed to take on the project.

He said Monday that he spoke with a descendant of Winnemucca’s, Dorothy Ely, as well as other tribe members and experts as part of his research for the project.

Visitors who walk into the Carson City building are greeted by her image, wind-swept to show motion and holding up a shell flower in one hand and her book in the crook of her other arm.

Victor said Winnemucca’s given name was Thocmetony, which means shell flower.

“A flower in artwork represents peace, and that’s what Sarah really stood for,” Victor said. “That idea of peace among the cultures was the reason that she did what she did.”

Thom told lawmakers during the hearing Tuesday morning that she visited the Washington statue as well.

“The importance that I see in supporting this bill and supporting the declaration of Oct. 16 as Sarah Winnemucca day is because there is a long history of the contributions that Sarah Winnemucca gave for the state of Nevada and the United States government, and the Paiute people,” Thom said.

Winnemucca was a translator for the U.S. Army, as well as for Indian agents during the relocation of Native Americans in the 1800s.

“Through her travels she was able to help interpret for the Paiute people, as they didn’t know the English language,” Thom said, noting that this skill led Winnemucca to write her book.

The Assembly voted unanimously in support of Assembly Bill 435 on Thursday, and the bill will be forwarded to the Senate.

Flores said his K-12 education lacked Native American history, and a day of observance declared annually by the governor would give schools an opportunity to teach children about Winnemucca’s impact in Nevada.

“We all recognize the contributions of the Native American community to the state of Nevada,” Flores said. “It is appropriate for many reasons that we do this now and that we recognize Sarah Winnemucca in this state by honoring her day every year as a reminder of her contribution to the state.”

This story was updated to include Thursday's vote.