The Jackson Sundown dress-up artists have struck again, casting the historical bronze in a Saint Patrick's Day motif on Tuesday in Pendleton.

Bronze is quickly becoming the most controversial color in Pendleton.

A few weeks after Pendleton resident Pamela Harmon submitted a petition to the city requesting she and her husband be allowed to decorate the Jackson Sundown statue on Main Street, another petition has surfaced requesting the statue remain off limits to adornments.

Since the Sundown bronze was moved from the Pendleton Convention Center to Main Street over the summer, Harmon and her husband, Tim Becker, have decorated the statue in conjunction with holidays including Halloween, Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day.

Harmon gathered a 29-signature petition after Becker got into an alleged confrontation with a man who stripped the statue of St. Patrick’s decorations.

In response, a petition asking the city to prohibit decorations of the bronze was circulated, gathering 156 signatures.

Although many signatures come from members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, tribal spokesman Chuck Sams said the petition wasn’t circulated by the board of trustees or the tribal government.

Instead, Sams said, the idea was hatched after the discussions of several tribal members on social media.

The issue also has garnered the attention of the Nez Perce, the tribe Sundown belonged to.

Silas Whitman, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, wrote a letter to the city council discouraging the decoration of the statue.

While noting the decorators may have good intentions, it failed to honor Sundown’s legacy with the Nez Perce people.

Beyond his exploits at the Round-Up, Whitman pointed to Sundown’s resilience in the face of the Nez Perce War of 1887 and frequent racism as being an inspiration to his tribe.

“Nez Perce and non-Nez Perce have a natural affinity for the man and his story as he represents some of the finer qualities all of us would aspire to have,” he wrote. “Allowing the statue to continue to be decorated makes a mockery of the man, his legacy and what he represents to many people.”

Sams said the CTUIR government hasn’t taken an official stance on the issue.

Sams added that City Manager Robb Corbett emailed CTUIR Executive Director Dave Tovey about the controversy and mentioned the city could seek a cease-and-desist order against anyone decorating the statue until the issue is resolved.

Corbett didn’t respond to requests for comment and Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts wrote he wasn’t aware of any cease-and-desist orders when reached by email Thursday.

When Harmon presented her petition at a city council meeting, Councilman Chuck Wood was supportive of allowing her to continue decorating Sundown’s bronze.

On Friday, Wood said he’s now grateful the city didn’t take any action that night due to the high amount of public input they’ve received since then.

“I think its worthy of discussion,” he said.

While the various petitions and letters are included in the agenda packet, the issue isn’t listed as an action item for Tuesday’s city council meeting.

———

Contact Antonio Sierra at asierra@eastoregonian.com or 541-966-0836.