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The 50 foot high dignity statue has been standing tall in the U.S state of South Dakota for over 12 months and has only just started to pop up in our news feeds in Australia one year later.

Our first impressions were amazement of such a beautiful sculpture with an even more beautiful message that recognises the original people of the land. When you dig a little deeper into the story you find that a reluctance still exists to empower history that strays away from the dominant colonial history.

As we mentioned, this has just started to appear on social media here in Australia over a year since the statue was unveiled. This points to a lack of media exposure from national and international news outlets in America and around the western world. It appears they still have a strange fear of Indigenous empowerment. We would love to hear your thoughts about this fear in the comments below. Does the fear go back to a lack of sovereignty and illegal possession of Indigenous land?

The statue itself was not created by local or state governments either. Dignity was a million dollar gift from a local philanthropist who feels the need for all people to be treated with dignity and respect. Check out the amazing footage below of “Dignity” and her timeless gaze. If you want to help break this fear of Indigenous empowerment, you can help us by sharing this story around the world. Dignity lights up at night and reflects the light of the sun during the day.