(Press Release) Alice Piper was unknowingly at her time a Native American Civil Rights hero comparable to the likes of Rosa Parks. This accomplishment has gone unacknowledged for far too long. This memorial is the first step in honoring that history. Though our campaign and your generous support, we have brought awareness to this monumental case in Civil Rights and Equal
Rights in Education.
The great news is that we accomplished what we set out to do, but ultimately this would not have been possible without
the support from the School District that supported the project from its inception.
We are happy to announce that on Monday, June 2, 2014 – which is the 90th Anniversary of the Piper vs. Big Pine (1924)
decision – we will be unveiling the Alice Piper Memorial on the front lawn of the Big Pine School.
We would like to invite you to the unveiling event that is open to the public at 1pm . We will also have an
Invitation-Only Gala Luncheon that will feature local Native Foods and a LIVE performance by the AKAMYA Culture Group
just steps away from the Memorial in the Helen Lund Square on the Big Pine School Campus. We are so excited and hope
you can join us for the unveiling.
Alice Piper Memorial Unveiling – Monday, June 2, 2014 (1pm) Where: Big Pine Unified School, Big Pine, California
Tentative Agenda 1:00 pm Welcome – Big Pine Unified School District & Big Pine Paiute Tribe
Honor Song – Akamya Culture Group
Alice Piper’s Dream – Big Pine Students
Statue Unveiling
Panel discussion with American History Students
2:00 pm Gala Luncheon – Invitation Only
If invited, RSVP to the Gala Luncheon by Friday., May 30 (3:00pm) to (760) 938-2222 to ensure your seat is reserved. Due
to limited seating, you must have an invitation to attend this event.
If you are traveling and staying overnight, or an interested local, we would like to extend the invitation after this event to
visit some local historic sites with discussion here in the beautiful Owens Valley including the actual house where Alice
Piper lived.
For those of you not in the area or unable to attend, we are hoping to have a LIVE feed online of the actual event. Please
see our Facebook page:www.facebook.com/AlicePiperMemorial for details as the time draws near.
Sincerely,
Pamela Jones, Superintendent – Big Pine Unified School District, Shannon Romero (Paiute/Taos Pueblo) Alice Piper
Memorial Team Member, Alicia Peterson (Paiute/Navajo) Alice Piper Memorial Team Member, Sage Romero (Paiute/Taos
Pueblo) Alice Piper Memorial Team Member
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Now, I understand the Alice Piper statue cost in the neighborhood of 30K. I can’t help but think a nice plaque and the rest going towards Native Seniors for college would have been a more appropriate usage of funds, and honor the memory of Alice Piper.
It seems this statue is more of some administrator’s vanity, and less of anything contributing to the future of Natives at Big Pine School, or any student at Big Pine for that matter.
How is a statue going to improve the school? Inspiration? Pride?
It’s my opinion that this doesn’t really honor Alice Piper, I think Alice may have wanted less fanfare, and actual improvements to the school, and student’s education and future.
Just my opinion. May not be popular, but it is what it is.
Here’s my opinion;
“In these united states of America, this great country of ours, We American Indians can be anything we want to be, Except American Indians!….”
-Russell Means- (1989 testimony to senate committee)
If you can’t find inspiration or feel any pride from the adversity Alice Piper faced and fought against, to have the right to education, why would you question the honor if you don’t even acknowledge the circumstance?
Aggressive Progressive, I’m glad to see you are inspired by the late Chief Russell Means as much as I am.
Please don’t think I am not awed by the brave actions of Alice Piper. I can’t imagine what that must of took to change Federal Law. I salute her!
As a person who was pulled out of the beginning of 10th grade, and later as a grown woman having to scrape change, and sneak out to the University to take her GED, and later wait by her mailbox to retrieve it before anyone else finds out what I did, I think I get the impact of Alice Piper Landmark Supreme Court case. I also know the feeling and drive to want to have an education, and meeting the wall.
As a 42 year old woman, I am still facing adversity to access higher education. I’ll never give up, but my path is riddled with brick walls and hurdles.
Also,as a partial Native, who has lived in a handful of Native communities in our nation, I can say from my viewpoint, I would of rather of read an article about a way to honor this significant event with something that continued access for Native students to enrichment programs, and possible access to higher education than a “Invitation Only Gala” that looks great in the papers, and puts Big Pine School on the map.
-Just one Uneducated Twit’s Opinion
I agree! I can definitely see where your coming from to say the money spent on a extravagant “warm and fuzzy” statue, could be very well utilized to go towards motivated youths higher education..
Keep up the good fight…
But then again, student loans and other fees just to get a higher education is showing to be a burden when in this current job market (economy), people are already having trouble finding a job that their field of education offers and/or having to settle for under-employment (employment they would’ve been qualified for without a degree).
(excuse me as I go off on a tangent)
And what doesn’t make any sense to me, besides the idea or the inevitability that we are facing another serious economic collapse is, how in the heck can the stock market and Wall St do so great so fast and steady (since Obama took office) when the middle class and economy is hurting and declining so much?
-Just another uneducated twits opinion-
Aggressive Progressive, now we have a meeting of the minds.
Because of my own educational handicaps in life, I just want to see all kids in our community “rise above the odds” and do better than I have. (I’m not saying my life is bad, but it had potential for greatness had I been allowed to study Physics and Science like I had always dreamed since I was a girl. And self-educated has no acumen in the real world.)
I’m not even trying to take away from the event, the statue. I was just wondering how exactly this could have been a better legacy for the future generations.
I started my whole comment with “I understand…”, meaning, “Please someone enlighten me”. Maybe there are programs/scholarships in place in relation to this event? As it looks from this Press Release, it’s just an exclusionary gala, to celebrate an “equal access” historical event. The irony was not lost on me. And I was also just trying to point that out.