Enisketomp

They are going to move the Forefathers Monument, did you hear? In its present location on Allerton it is missed by 90% of the tourists who go looking for it, and most town residents couldn’t tell you where it is either.
They’re going to move it, piece by piece, stone by stone, to the rest stop at Exit 5: there it will be given a position of prominence, directly off the highway and in front of the McDonalds.
Customers at the McDonald’s drive-thru will be able to order commemorative Forefathers’ Fries during the re-construction process.

Okay now wait a few seconds and let that sink in…

Preposterous? You bet. Thank goodness it’s not true. But the idea is not any more ridiculous than what they have actually done to the 35 foot wooden Enisketomp that sits there now.
Enisketomp, if you didn’t know, is the name of the wooden sculpture donated to the town by the artist Peter ‘Wolf’ Toth.
Toth, in an effort to raise awareness of the important contributions of Native Americans, carved and placed massive wooden sculptures depicting Native Americans icons in all fifty states, and every Canadian province. All told he has created over 70 sculptures, and has already replaced a number of those that through neglect or accident had fallen into disrepair over the years since he began his quest.
Fortunately, since its creation, Enisketomp –which loosely translated means ‘human being’, has been cared for by the Massachusetts Highway Department. They placed it on the concrete block it still rests on, grounded it with metal bar and wire to protect against lightning strikes, and regularly treat it to protect against rot or infestation.

What they have been unable to do, however, is protect it against the rising tide of commercialization, a phenomena that threatens to rob us all of our right to spaces that are out of reach of the corporations –places where we can actually think for ourselves, without commercial interruptions..

I never liked that they placed Enisketomp at the rest stop at exit 5 in the first place: I thought it smacked of the days when impoverished Native American’s were forced to sell their trinkets along the nation’s highways.
But I understood that the location had a certain prominence – would be seen by millions, even if they were just rushing by. Originally that location at Exit 5 also featured an information center –not a fast food restaurant.
But I think you know what happened. The information center was leveled, in favor of a McDonalds and, at present, Honey Dew Donut. And now Enisketomp is just a decoration –like the super-sized inflatable coffee cup and donut that was placed there last week.
Of course what has been done to Enisketomp is not out of the ordinary these days: I don’t assert that the artist, his sculpture, or Native American’s overall have been singled out for this treatment. Rather I believe the insult is directed at us all.
More and more the interests of business are given preference over the rights of the individual.
Bankruptcy laws are revised to favor the creditors. Medicare is revised to favor the pharmaceutical companies. Workers pensions are jettisoned for the sake of the ‘life’ of the corporation.
Along our highways the beautiful trees that used to stretch for miles, and served as a buffer between the roadway and development along its path, are being cut away so that we can be sure to have a clear view of the car dealers and home improvement stores.

This stretch of our lives sponsored by the highest bidder.

A plastic Enisketomp with every Happy Meal.

What would they pay, I wonder, to put a logo on Plymouth Rock?