The lawsuit between Italian Sons and Daughters of America (ISDA) and the city of Pittsburgh regarding the fate of the Schenley Park Columbus statue is in the discovery process, and a rally was recently held at the historical site where protestors demanded that the tarps be removed from the monument. Judge John McVay, who is presiding over the suit, asked each side to submit a settlement proposal last year in the hopes that we and the city could reach a compromise.

We proposed to offer significant funding for the development and construction of an Indigenous Peoples’ statue that could be placed near the Columbus statue. We also offered to provide substantial funding for the creation of a screening space where the city’s residents could present documentaries and films on culture and history. The city, led at the time by Mayor Bill Peduto, rejected our proposal, and the city’s attorneys refused to submit a settlement proposal of their own.