Some monuments to veterans are moving.
At a press conference today, officials announced that Veterans Park will be moving to Centennial Park. One reason for the change is to create more visibility for the Veterans Park monuments.
Josh Sparks, veterans chair for the Human Rights Commission, said Veterans Park was first established on South Boulder Drive because that street was once a main thoroughfare. It’s not so much these days.
“The memorials themselves have kind of fallen back and been forgotten. So that’s when the plan came together to say, ‘What if we took them to Centennial Park?’”
The old Veterans Park will be renamed Dream Keepers Park to honor all Native American tribes.
Chair of the Indian Affairs Commission Cheryl Cohenour said the park is named Dream Keepers after an award the commission gives to leaders in the Native American community who show a commitment to public service.
Cohenour said there is a vision for Dream Keepers Park.
“Dream Keepers Park will be a place where historical truth is acknowledged and culturally accepted and reverence for the natural world are valued above all else."
The changes aren’t official yet, as the Park Board and City Council have to sign off, but Mayor G.T. Bynum said he hopes both parks will be renamed by the end of autumn.