Georgia county to remove ‘genocide cannon’ from city square

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia county has unanimously voted to remove a “genocide cannon” from a city square where it resided for more than a century. The cannon in Decatur has ties to the Indian War of 1836 and has become increasingly controversial. It has been criticized by local activists who say it represents the brutal suffering of thousands of Muscogee people who were removed from their native lands. Approximately 3,500 Native Americans died during the bloody conflict and the ensuing Trail of Tears, the U.S. government’s forced displacement of Indian tribes from the Southeast. A local activist group has held multiple protests. The most recent was on Monday, Oct. 11, which is both Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.