ACLU, Indigenous artist sue Vail over town’s withdrawn residency invitation

Editor's note: Rocky Mountain PBS contracted Danielle SeeWalker for artwork featured in our documentary "Colorado Voices: A New Chapter." She was also featured in "Colorado Experience: Return of the Buffalo," but that was not a paid appearance.

VAIL, Colo. — The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against the town of Vail on behalf of Danielle SeeWalker, an Indigenous artist who claims the town violated her right to free speech.

Nearly a month before Danielle SeeWalker was slated to paint a mural in Vail, town staff told her that a social media post featuring a different painting she created — one comparing the violence in Gaza to the genocide of Native Americans — was “too polarizing.” 

Town staff asked SeeWalker — a Denver-based artist, writer and member of the Lakota tribe — in January 2024 to participate in Vail’s “Art in Public Places” residency program. According to the town’s website, the program invites an artist to “create a diverse and meaningful public art experience to engage the community and enhance the cultural vitality of Vail.”

SeeWalker was also invited to give a talk in a town symposium about Native American art and history.

But before SeeWalker could take up residency in Vail, she was told her social media post highlighting the violence in Gaza was “too political,” and upsetting to the town’s Jewish community. 

SeeWalker said the posts never mentioned Judaism, but instead highlighted Israeli violence against Gazans. 

“I have Jewish friends, I know the history of what Jewish people went through and I would think, of all populations, what I’m trying to convey as a Native American would also resonate with the Jewish community,” SeeWalker said in an April interview with Rocky Mountain PBS.

“This has nothing to do with Jewish people. It’s really just about genocide and how people can’t just live as who they are and be OK and safe being who they are,” she said.

In an interview with Rocky Mountain PBS from last Spring, Vail town manager Russell Forrest said the town “welcomes [SeeWalker’s] messaging around Native Americans,” but that “this specific messaging around this geopolitical crisis was just too polarizing.”

“This specific issue is an incredibly polarizing issue and investing public dollars in art where this could be part of the messaging is not appropriate,” Forrest said. 

“We’re not trying to, in any way, suppress her communication, but we have a responsibility with public art that does not engage or jump into such a polarizing issue,” he said.

SeeWalker was slated to paint the Vail mural in June and had not yet approved a painting with the town, but she planned to paint flowers and wildlife.

In a written statement, deputy town manager Kathleen Halloran wrote that SeeWalker never submitted a contract for her plan, so the town did not get the chance to discuss the mural before a town resident saw SeeWalker’s social media and raised the issue.

“Investing public dollars in art where this could be part of the messaging is not appropriate,” Forrest said. “We’re an inclusive community and everything about us is about being inclusive. Doing something that polarizes a component of the country, the world or our community just wasn’t deemed appropriate.”

SeeWalker’s artwork is currently featured in a History Colorado exhibit titled “But We Have Something to Say.” According to the museum, SeeWalker’s art “comments on the intersections of historical Native American society and modern culture.”

“SeeWalker spins her work into a contemporary vision that elevates her community and their often dismissed or silenced histories,” History Colorado noted.

When Vail town staff first approached SeeWalker, she said she was hesitant to participate because of the town’s reputation as a wealthy, white destination. 

After considering it further, SeeWalker felt her participation could spark valuable discussion about violence against Native Americans in Colorado. 

SeeWalker also felt the mural would foster conversations around Palestinians in Gaza facing famine and bombs from the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

“It was drawing parallels between my ancestors who faced genocide and those in Gaza, how their land is being taken and they’re being killed,” SeeWalker said. “It was an expression piece I did for the purpose of drawing those connections.”

SeeWalker said she saw the opportunity as “educational,” for a community who she believed rarely hears from Indigenous people. 

“Now, I’m looking at this as an opportunity for me to continue to be vocal against white supremacy and how ridiculous this is,” SeeWalker said. 

The lawsuit, which was filed October 14 — Indigenous Peoples’ Day — in federal court, alleges the town discriminated against SeeWalker, who is a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. 

“Government entities are not permitted to award or deny grants based on invidious viewpoint discrimination,” the lawsuit states. 

“Vail cannot, consistent with the First Amendment, condition its residency opportunity on personal assent with prescribed views on the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza,” wrote ACLU lawyers in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit does not name specific damages SeeWalker is seeking, but does state “Ms. SeeWalker is entitled to monetary, declaratory, and injunctive relief for Vail’s violation of her First Amendment right.” 

The lawsuit also asks Vail not to revoke future artists based on pieces not related to the Artist in Residency program.

SeeWalker did not return requests for comment before this article was published. Rocky Mountain PBS also requested comment from the town of Vail staff, but did not hear back before publishing.