Indigenous writers decry planned destruction of literary exhibit at Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee
MILWAUKEE - Award-winning Wisconsin writers and advocates for the arts are decrying the planned destruction of a literary exhibit in Milwaukee this week.
The exhibit, “Portals and Writings Celebrating Wisconsin Authors,” was installed at the Milwaukee convention center, now known as the Wisconsin Center, in 1998. It features the works of 48 Wisconsin writers through four centuries, including many prominent Indigenous artists and people of color. Their words are worked into sculptural archways and on the walls of the center.
Kimberly Blaeser, a former Wisconsin Poet Laureate and a citizen of the White Earth Nation Ojibwe in Minnesota, has work featured in the exhibit and said some of the other works by Indigenous writers reminds visitors of the colonial history of Wisconsin and how Indigenous people and the atrocities committed against them had been forgotten.
“I don’t understand why our leaders would be afraid of history,” she said. “It’s such a tragedy that there would be this erasure.”
"When the center opened in 1998, the decision to feature literature was praised as a bold and forward-looking departure from conventional design. The decision to trash that heritage is an abrupt move in the opposite direction," local historian John Gurda wrote in an email to several WCD board members criticizing the plan.
Milwaukee aldermen ask for delay on art installation's removal until board review conducted
After news about the planned removal of the installation spread, six Milwaukee aldermen sent WCD president Marty Brooks a letter questioning the decision. "If the reports are correct, the decision to remove it was made without reference to either the Milwaukee Arts Board which supervised the original installation or your own Wisconsin Center District Board," the letter read in part.
Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs and aldermen Jonathan Brostoff, Robert J. Bauman, Michael J. Murphy, Mark A. Borkowski and José G. Pérez signed the letter. Bauman, Coggs and Pérez are members of the WCD board.
"At a minimum, we would strongly urge you to delay the planned removal until a review by the Wisconsin Center District Board can be conducted," the letter said.
Wauwatosa mayor Dennis R. McBride, also a WCD board member, said in an email message that he also has asked Brooks to delay the planned removal until a board review can be conducted.
Supporters argue change isn't necessary for center's expansion
Supporters of the exhibit have organized an online petition to stop the demolition.
They are responding to an article by Urban Milwaukee posted April 4 reporting that Brooks made the decision to remove the installation in preparation for an expansion project and that work would begin April 10.
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The Wisconsin Center is operated by the Wisconsin Center District, which is a semi-autonomous municipality with board members who are appointed by elected officials.
The literary exhibit features writing from many prominent authors from the state’s past and present, including Carl Sandburg, Lorrie Moore and writings from members of Ojibwe and Potawatomi tribes.
Its installation was overseen by Milwaukee city officials and had received wide community support.
Supporters said the decision to demolish the exhibit was made unilaterally without consultation or notification.
Supporters argue a $456 million expansion of the center does not require the removal of the exhibit and some suggest the removal is part of an effort to prepare for the hosting of the Republican National Convention next year.
“Censorship of school curriculum. Banned books. It would be hard not to see this action in Wisconsin as a part of those larger efforts,” said Blaeser in a statement. “The literature on the walls of the Wisconsin Center includes Indigenous voices, the writing of early ecologists, working-class voices, African-American voices, Latino voices, Asian voices, etc. We worked hard to make it representative of all Wisconsinites. All Wisconsinites should be outraged by the plans to demolish this literary archive.”
Blaeser, who’s also a professor emerita at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the founding director of the national organization Indigenous Nations Poets, wrote a letter to the Wisconsin Center District Board urging them to stop the demolition of the exhibit.
“As a government entity, the Wisconsin Center District Board would seem to have an obligation to due process, such as a public hearing,” she wrote in her letter. “The citizens who supported the creation of this one-of-a-kind nationally recognized installation deserve a chance to express their concern about its future. … I ask that you show leadership and raise your voice to stop the wanton destruction. Wisconsin and the larger arts community will be watching what happens in Milwaukee.”
Initial attempts by the Press-Gazette to reach Brooks were unsuccessful.
Milwaukee's Woodland Pattern Book Center and artist Jill Sebastian, who led the creation of "Portals" twenty-five years ago, are working on a full-color book with professional photography to document the installation. In a statement, Woodland Pattern said that WCD had contributed $20,000 toward the costs of that book, which WP expects to cost $50,000 to $80,000 to produce.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Jim Higgins contributed to this story.
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Frank Vaisvilas is a Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.You can directly support his work with a tax-deductible donation online at GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee plans to demolish literary exhibit
