The fate of a Utah town’s controversial historical re-enactment is up in the air after city officials pledged to make changes to the event.
Wellsville’s City Council met Wednesday night to discuss the annual ‘Sham Battle,’ which includes white residents dressing up in red body paint and pretending to attack Mormon settlers.
Salt Lake Tribune reporter Courtney Tanner covered the meeting. She says the annual tradition has divided the town.
“There were some folks who said, ‘You know, I’m embarrassed that my community has this.’ There were other folks who said, ‘I put shoe polish on my face, and I’m going to keep doing that because I was a good Indian in this portrayal.’”
The council agreed to form a committee made up of former and current participants to discuss changes, but Tanner says the matter is far from settled.
“A resolution on this is a little up in the air,” she says. “There’s no sense when this committee will get together or when they’ll have a decision. There are no deadlines. Obviously, they hope to make changes before next year’s festivities.”
Members of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation who attended the meeting said they want the play to be updated to more accurately portray the events of the era.
Read more of Courtney Tanner's coverage of the Wellsville meeting, or follow her on Twitter.
Listen to RadioWest's conversation the Wellsville "Sham Battle," and the long history in this country of white people dressing up and acting like Indians.
