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Monroe’s Perversion of Custer on Display

Local activists call out Monroe county’s immortalization of Custer with a 14’ x 48’ billboard on I-75. Despite increasing public pressure from local activists and Native Americans nationwide, Monroe, Michigan continues to honor war criminal General George Armstrong Custer with street names, a school, social events, an airport, and a large bronze statue prominently displayed at its city center.

Since 2020 the Anishinaabek Caucus of the Michigan Democratic Party has been working with local activists from Good Trouble Monroe attending city council meetings to share news of the growing push to rid Monroe of its Custer worship once and for all. The volume of attention was so great that the Mayor and members of city council voted to stop reading letters aloud at their meetings, reduced public speaking opportunities, and refused to conduct hybrid meetings which would have allowed for further Native input. Plans to hire an impartial mediator to oversee future projects related to Custer’s representation around Monroe were also abandoned.

Public commentary included Julie Dye, Elder of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, who stated “Monroe, Michigan actually happens to be part of my tribe’s ancestral territory, and I would just like to say that this monument is just as hurtful now as it was years ago when my relatives and ancestors protested it.” Nat Spurr, a citizen of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi urged, “We don't want the symbol of Monroe to be a war criminal, a killer of Native American… elderly people, men, women and children, and I think the city of Monroe can do better than that.”

The National Congress of American Indians voted unanimously in favor of dismantling memorials to George Armstrong Custer across the United States. The United Tribes of Michigan voted unanimously calling for the removal of a Custer statue in Monroe, Michigan. The Michigan Democratic Party also passed a similar resolution.

Monroe County Community College scrapped its plans to incorporate a land acknowledgement carefully crafted by local Native Americans and the school’s staff. The River Raisin Battlefield has relied heavily on consultation from a currently unrecognized group claiming Native heritage. Monroe Public Schools has been disinterested in changing the name of Custer Elementary I and II. Other local organizations comfortable with the war criminal have also refused to budge.

Monroe must evolve with the rest of the country; instead, it continues to honor a war criminal.

Contact Good Trouble Monroe for any media inquiries: goodtroublemonroe@gmail.com

Why Remove the Custer Statue Now?

Custer represents a horrific part of our history that perpetuates the degradation of the Indigenous people

Memorializing Custer as a hero is psychologically damaging to minority communities and misrepresents history

Monroe has a beautiful and rich history without the Custer statue; removing it will bring tourists back to our city

Let Monroe stand against racism and further prevent intolerant acts of racism by removing Custer’s stronghold as the city’s hero
Monroe sits upon once Potawatomi lands; Custer being celebrated is utterly disrespectful

Please Take Action Now to Remove the Custer Statue!

14,000 people signed a petition stating that the Custer statue must go

Ten prolific and passionate rallies have been held to send the message: "We do not want the Custer statue here!"

Historians, scholars and professionals in their field have publicly penned and spoke about the importance of removing the Custer's statue

City council voted unanimously for a Request For Resources to employ a consultant that will further investigate this matter

We need everybody: Tribal leaders and citizens, constituents, business owners and tourists to express how the Custer statue representing Monroe is of detriment to the city

Write or visit Monroe City Council to express Custer Removal support

If you would like to attend a Monroe City Council meeting and express your views during their Public Comment time, please know that council meetings are held the first and third Mondays of each month at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers at Monroe City Hall. In the event that the regularly scheduled meeting falls on a City observed holiday, the meeting will be rescheduled for the following business day. Meetings begin at 7:30 PM and are often preceded by a work session which is also open to the public.

Please join us by writing or emailing Monroe's Mayor and City Council to express how you feel about Custer's legacy at the below addresses. Please write, "I am requesting that this email be read in the public comments section of the City Council Meeting."

Email: michelle.lavoy@monroemi.gov
- Please cc: goodtroublemonroe@gmail.com
Message City Hall here: https://www.anishinaabekcaucus.org/engage/custer-must-go-write-to-monroe-city-hall

Monroe City Hall - Council Chambers

120 East First Street

Monroe, Michigan 48161

We would like to keep everyone aware of the organizations and professionals that are dismayed by Custer’s hero status

Please sign your name on to this letter of support
By doing so, we will add your organization’s name with all the other supporters on the last page of this letter
Please email: goodtroublemonroe@gmail.com with your consent

Raise Up Your Words - Let Us Quote You!

Your support and perspective are very important and will go a long way in helping us get the message across that Custer is a negative symbol of American History that should not be celebrated

Your statements and explanations, from your unique standpoint, will help us educate others and give people another perspective to consider
Please share your letters of support with us at email: goodtroublemonroe@gmail.com