Nevada dedicates its own statue

For the second time in a month, famed Nevada author and activist Sarah Winnemucca will take center stage in the halls of American government, this time in Carson City.

A 6-foot, 4-inch bronze likeness of the woman who in the 1880s lobbied Congress and public opinion on behalf of Paiute Indians will be unveiled in the Nevada State Capitol on Wednesday.

While it's an exact replica of the statue placed in the nation's capital in March, cast from the same mold, this week's ceremony has a greater significance to some.

"It takes on a special meaning in Nevada because she was an important Nevadan first and foremost," said sculptor Benjamin Victor, who shaped the larger-than-life statue.

The 25-year-old artist was commissioned to create the bronze Winnemucca for placement in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C., Each state is allowed two statues in the hall but Nevada had only one, former Sen. Patrick McCarran.

His creation, said Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs public information officer Bob Harmon, "stands for a life that is really significant to the history of this state."

Winnemucca's book, "Life among the Piutes: Their Wrongs and Claims," was the first by an American Indian woman and the first by an American Indian west of the Rockies.

Along with creating a school for American Indian children in Lovelock Winnemucca spent much of her life working, often unsuccessfully, to win better treatment of the Paiute people.

An all-volunteer group called the Nevada Women's History Project lobbied for Winnemucca's placement in the statuary hall and Nevada first lady Dema Guinn helped raise funds to cast a second statue, so the state could have its own copy.

The statues on Capitol Hill and in Carson City will "allow Sarah to continue her message," Harmon said.

The Nevada copy will make her more accessible "for Nevadan's and for her people," Victor said.

Dedication of the statue, which will include speakers Gov. Kenny Guinn, first lady Dema Guinn, Victor, and several others, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Capitol.