Offending Canadian nudes to be removed

VICTORIA, British Columbia, June 26 (UPI) -- After a decade of debate, the nude Native Americans depicted in four murals in the grand rotunda of the British Columbia Legislature will be removed.

The four scenes from colonial history, painted in the 1930s by George Southwell, were meant to represent courage, enterprise, labor and justice. But that's not how descendants of the nation's native people view them, the Toronto Start reported Monday.

"First Nations have always maintained the murals are demeaning and degrading and do nothing more than uphold negative stereotypes of First Nations as a conquered and subservient people," said Grand Chief Edward John of the First Nations Summit.

Premier Gordon Campbell said the government is launching a new relationship to build a better future for aboriginal people in the province.

"What I would like to accomplish ... as we build a spirit of reconciliation and understanding, is really to have a spirit of respect," he said.

One lawmaker, Liberal Blair Lekstrom, said he opposed the decision to remove the murals and wanted to see them updated because they are part of the history of the province and the building.

It will cost about $280,000 to remove the paintings.