Step taken for statue of Winnemucca in D.C.

Monday, March 29, 2004 | 8:48 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada's congressional delegation announced the introduction of a bill Friday that would put a statue of Paiute activist Sarah Winnemucca inside the U.S. Capitol.

Nevada and New Mexico have just one statue in the Capitol building's National Statuary Hall, according to the Architect of the U.S. Capitol office. Each state can have two statues representing its state. A statue of late Sen. Pat McCarran was put in Statuary Hall in 1960.

The Nevada Legislature approved Winnemucca to be Nevada's second statue in 2001. In February, a committee chose a design by Benjamin Victor, a student at Northern State University in South Dakota.

The 7-foot bronze sculpture will depict Winnemucca hold a book in her left hand, representing education and the high moral values of American Indians.

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