Nevada’s about to give its second statue to the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol. It will be a depiction of Sarah Winnemucca, the Paiute Indian activist. And will join that state’s other representative to the nation, Patrick Mccarren.
I had run across references to the Statuary Hall while researching the statues of Hawaii. I found that King Kamehmeha I was represented there, along with Father Damien. But when I ran across the story about Winnemucca, I decided it was time to learn more about this legendary hall.
Turns out it is a center in the Capitol where each state displays statues of two of its prominent figures. Only two each. It was established in 1864, and quickly became so crowded that other arrangements had to be made for their display. So the main hall carries one each of the statues, and the others are scattered around nearby hallways.
The works have to be done in either marble or bronze and must be donated by the states, and not by individuals or organizations. According to the law that established it, the statues have to be of “of deceased persons who have been citizens thereof, and illustrious for their historic renown or for distinguished civic or military services such as each State may deem to be worthy of this national commemoration.”
Finding out who each state commemorates is fascinating. Hawaii’s of course, reflected its pride in both its own native population and an outsider (haole) who contributed to the welfare of those who lived there.
There are plenty of soldiers and presidents (of course), but also a large number of women, such as Jeanette Rankin, Emma Willard, Florence Sabin and Mother Joseph and a few indigenous people such as Sakakawea,  (photo from National Statuary Hall website) Sequoyah, and Kamehameha. Over the years, the collection has become interestingly balanced.
For more information and a virtual tour, check out:
http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/nsh_states.htm
http://clerkweb.house.gov/histrecs/halls/House_vir/1h.htm
10:48:57 AM 
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