Visiting Sarah Winnemucca

Carson City, Nevada, offers several sites and attractions that celebrate the history of the wild West. But if you haven't visited the Silver State's capital city in the past few years, you may not realize just how rich the Nevadans' cultural heritage really is.

One example can be found just inside the Nevada State Capitol Lobby in downtown Carson City, where there is a six-foot bronze statue of Sarah Winnemucca, a Native American Paiute woman. This statue is a full-sized replica of her statue that stands in the National Statuary Hall Collection in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Sarah Winnemucca, who died in 1891, was selected in 2001 as Nevada's second statue in the National Collection. She was the daughter of Chief Winnemucca- for whom a Northern Nevada city is name- and the granddaughter of Chief Truckee- after whom the river flowing east out of Lake Tahoe is named, and for whom the geographic area of Reno, Nevada, is named, the Truckee Meadows. Sarah Winnemucca led an active and distinguished life that included serving as a translator and liaison between the native population and the U.S. government, acting as an advocate for native peoples, founding a school in the Northern Nevada town of Lovelock and writing what is believed to have been the first book authored by a Native American woman.

The sculptor chosen to create the Sarah Winnemucca statue was Benjamin Victor. He was 25 years old when selected for the project, the youngest artist yet chosen to create a sculpture for the National Statuary Hall. In his artist's statement for the project, he said, "Sarah Winnemucca was a icon of human rights, an empowering figure in women's history, and an advocate for education. Sarah was one of the most determined and compassionate people who ever lived. The idea of encompassing the essence of Sarah Winnemucca in one sculpture is no small order."

The statue for the national collection was dedicated in March of 2005, and the replica for the Nevada Capitol was dedicated in April of the same year in a public ceremony. On hand for the Carson City dedication were the artist and Nevada State Governor Kenny Guinn, as well as first lady Dema Guinn, who served on the selection committee and worked to raise funds for the statues. Of Sarah Winnemucca, she said, "As a twenty-first century Nevadan, I admire Sarah Winnemucca for her ability to balance her family life with her public life and rise above obstacles to seek a better existence for her people in a bicultural society." Native Paiute dancers and drummers performed on the capitol lawn throughout the afternoon.

The Nevada State Capitol Lobby is located at 101 N. Carson St. in downtown Carson City, at the corner of Musser and Carson streets. It is open to the public during the week, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.

Sources: Personal interviews and on-site reporting, documents of the Architect of the Capitol, documents of the Nevada Commission on Tourism, the Web site of Benjamin Victor (www.benjaminvictor.com)