Allen Park, also known as Hobbitville, is a wonderfully interesting historic landmark in Salt Lake City. The day before MLK day, I went there to walk (that was my second visit since it’s opening in 2021) and noticed an inscription that struck me as offensive: “Lo, the poor Indian! Whose untutor’d mind sees God in clouds or hears him in the wind.”
Afterwards I discovered that the inscription is the beginning of “Lo, the poor Indian” by Alexander Pope. I feel the city should add a didactic plate — as in other sections of the park — to contextualize this inscription as it offers a beautiful opportunity to educate the public on: literature, philosophy and the history of the dramatic encounter between western civilization and Native cultures.
Alessandro Rossi, Salt Lake City
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