Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta artist sued the town of Vail for violations of her free speech rights after the town abruptly canceled her artist residency over an Instagram post
VAIL, Colo. — The town of Vail has agreed to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit by Danielle SeeWalker, a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta artist and muralist, that was brought by ACLU of Colorado and the law firm of Newman McNulty in October 2024. The town agreed to significant policy changes, including:
- Funding a new art program for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged people, including people of Native American ancestry.
- Hosting a powwow to be organized by SeeWalker at the Donovan Pavillion annually for the next five years, free of rental fees and maintenance charges.
- Sponsoring and paying for a non-public community forum on Israel and Palestine that includes members of Vail’s Jewish community, Palestinian community, Muslim community, and other faith and community leaders.
- Providing annual cultural sensitivity training to employees in the Arts and Public Places Department for the next five years by an indigenous-led organization.
“This settlement shows that the government cannot get away with violating the First Amendment by retaliating because of speech it does not like,” said Tim Macdonald, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director. “Vail cancelled Ms. SeeWalker’s artist in residency because of the viewpoint of her speech. This action follows a long pattern of suppressing and censoring the voices of Native American people, but Ms. SeeWalker bravely said not this time; and this settlement shows that individuals pushing back can make a difference.”
ACLU of Colorado sued Vail on behalf of SeeWalker, alleging that SeeWalker’s free speech rights were violated under the state and federal constitutions when Vail abruptly canceled SeeWalker’s artist residency after she posted a photo of one of her artworks on Instagram expressing parallels SeeWalker sees between what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza and the genocide of Indigenous people in the United States. Vail’s decision was driven by a number of prominent townspeople complaining about Ms. SeeWalker’s Instagram post. ACLU lawyers and SeeWalker raised additional concerns that the cancellation of her artist residency perpetuated a history of censorship of Indigenous people’s perspectives in Colorado and the United States.
“While Vail has not formally or publicly apologized for the cancellation of my artist residency and the subsequent harm the cancellation has caused me, I think the fact that they have agreed to this settlement and these important policy changes shows the town of Vail knew they were in the wrong. I was unfairly censored and characterized as antisemitic and that could not be further from the truth,” said SeeWalker. “I am hopeful that through this experience, positive change for future underrepresented creatives, such as Native American artists, will have a better experience with the town of Vail in the future and that is what the heart of the settlement was all about for me.”
“Over the past year, we have seen that those who speak out against the atrocities that are being committed against the Palestinian people have been canceled, whether that has been through their unlawful deportation from this country, unjust expulsion from their university, or unfair loss of their livelihood,” said Andy McNulty of Newman McNulty. “Ms. SeeWalker bravely stood up in this increasingly hostile climate and spoke out against the genocide in Gaza. Hopefully, her courage, and this settlement, gives others the strength to raise their voices about the increasing injustices playing out in this country and abroad.”
In addition to Macdonald, the legal team included ACLU Senior Staff Attorney, Sara Neel, and Andy McNulty, Mari Newman, and Madeline Leibin of Newman McNulty.
RESOURCES:
Read the original complaint here.
Read the original press release here.
