Hannah Duston: Hero or Murderer?

Cameron Dennison, Student, Fitchburg State University

There are two statues of a woman named Hannah Duston, one in New Hampshire and the other in Massachusetts. This statue was the first statue of a woman to be publicly funded by the United States. The woman Hannah Duston got a statue because she killed ten indigenous people. She killed ten indigenous people and scalped them and was rewarded with a statue. This statue is a clear representation of the mistreatment of indigenous groups in the United States. There is more background to the story of Hannah Duston. She was “captured by the Abenaki nation during a military engagement in 1697 with her nurse-maid and newborn and was forced to trek a great distance to an encampment in present-day Boscawen” ("Statue of white woman holding hatchet and scalps sparks backlash in New England"). She was captured along with others from her settlement. Supposedly, her child was killed by the tribe. Hannah and the other captives killed ten of the tribe members, six of them children, and they scalped the dead tribe members.

The statue itself was made to put Hannah in a good light. They even made her look like a goddess: “the statue bears close resemblance to contemporary depictions of Columbia, the popular ‘goddess of liberty’ and female allegorical symbol of the nation” (“The Gruesome Story of Hannah Duston, Whose Slaying of Indians Made Her an American Folk 'Hero'”). It was even said that she was a folk hero. So they made the statue look like Hannah was a goddess and a hero to the American people in the fight against Native Americans. They really wanted Hannah to be the symbol in the movement to take over Native American land.

The statue itself is very appalling and disturbing. The statue shows Hannah holding a hatchet in one hand and scalps of the dead indigenous people in the other hand. That alone without the story behind it should have the statue torn down: “The statue, erected in 1879, commemorates her escape from the Abenaki tribe who had taken her prisoner and is engraved with the phrase 'pursued by savages'” (“Haverhill City Council Backs Keeping Statue of Hannah Duston at GAR Park"). The phrase on the statue says “pursued by savages” so not only do they want to make them feel inferior they don’t even want them to feel human. Still there are people who see Hannah Duston as a hero for her survival.

The fact that people still see this statue in a good light shows that there are still people who do not understand how poorly colonists treated indigenous groups: “Those who support keeping the Duston statues claim their removal alone won’t benefit indigenous people, and that Duston was acting in self-defense” ("Statue of white woman holding hatchet and scalps sparks backlash in New England"). It is very alarming that there are people who are okay with that statue staying up. The statue coming down would mean a lot to indigenous groups, and it would be a step forward in correcting the wrongs of our past. The statue coming down would only help people heal. People can’t feel welcome if they walk past a statue of a woman holding the scalps of their dead relatives.

There are many people who are arguing for the statue to not be torn down: “There are going to be cultural differences and I’m not sure that we, at this time, should pursue the Hannah Dustin situation” ("Statue of white woman holding hatchet and scalps sparks backlash in New England"). Also other people believe the statue is a “symbol of perseverance and survival.” The only way the statue could stay up in my opinion is if there is a plaque written by the Native American community explaining the story and how they feel about the statue. But I do believe that it should be torn down because it would only be fair to the living Native American communities.

“The Gruesome Story of Hannah Duston, Whose Slaying of Indians Made Her an American Folk 'Hero',” Smithsonian, 9 April 2018.

“Haverhill City Council Backs Keeping Statue of Hannah Duston at GAR Park,” WHAV, 3 July 2020.

"Statue of white woman holding hatchet and scalps sparks backlash in New England," The Guardian, 3 August 2020.