SAULT STE. MARIE, MI (AP)-- An ice sculpture of an American Indian in headdress has been removed from the front of a hotel in the Upper Peninsula.
The sculpture was created as part of Sault Ste. Marie's Ice Festival. Aaron Payment, chairman of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians, said it could be considered offensive.
Mary Lou Kreig, co-owner of Ramada Plaza Ojibway Hotel, says she believed the sculpture would honor American Indian culture. She says it's "very sad" that the Ice Festival Committee voted Wednesday to remove it.
Payment tells The Evening News that he's willing to contribute to another ice sculpture for the hotel. Ice Festival organizers say more than 30 sculptures are being displayed in the area.
