Pioneer Fountain, also known as Pioneer Monument,[1] is a fountain and sculpture by Frederick William MacMonnies, installed in Denver, Colorado, United States.[2]

Pioneer Fountain
Pioneer Monument
The monument in 2011
Map
ArtistFrederick William MacMonnies
LocationDenver, Colorado
Coordinates39°44′25″N 104°59′15″W / 39.7403°N 104.9876°W / 39.7403; -104.9876

In the original version of the monument, which was commissioned in 1904, an Indian warrior appeared at the top of the fountain, but the Denver business community loudly protested, and the Indian figure was soon replaced with a statue of Kit Carson.[3] The statue of Carson was temporarily removed in June 2020.[4] Indigenous activists had long criticized the glorification of Carson, who led a violent campaign to expel Navajo people from the American West. The Denver Parks and Recreation department described their removal of the statue as a "precautionary measure to keep it from being torn down."[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Pioneer Monument, (sculpture)". Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
  2. ^ Paglia, Michael (July 25, 2017). "Monumental Achievements: The Ten Best Outdoor Sculptures in Denver". Westword. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  3. ^ Prescott, Cynthia Culver (2019). Pioneer Mother Monuments: Constructing Cultural Memory. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 30–31.
  4. ^ a b Ochsner, Evan (June 26, 2020). "Denver "proactively" removes Kit Carson statue from downtown monument ahead of protests". The Colorado Sun. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020.
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