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Resident urges Clarkdale to apologize to Yavapai Apache and erect recognition monument
Summary
At public comment, longtime resident Ruth Wixs urged the Clarkdale Town Council to formally apologize and create a monument acknowledging the Yavapai Apache’s history in the Verde Valley, suggesting the town form a committee or partner regionally and seek private funding.
Ruth Wixs, a Clarkdale resident of 49 years, told the Town Council on Oct. 28 that the town should create a formal apology and a public monument recognizing the Yavapai Apache’s long history and the harms of past government actions. "I would like for you to look it over," she said while distributing materials, citing a monument in Victoria, B.C., as an example and urging Clarkdale to "apologize."
Wixs described historical displacements that affected members of the Yavapai Apache in her grandmother’s lifetime and presented an 1875 map she said showed the nation’s prior ownership or occupation of the area. She proposed forming a committee or partnering with other Verde Valley towns to pursue a memorial and said she expects costs could be handled privately. "The time is always right to do what is right," she told the council.
The mayor and council did not make a formal response or take action at the meeting; Wixs’s remarks were part of the public comment period, during which council members may only direct staff to study a matter, respond briefly, or schedule future consideration. The transcript shows no council motion or formal next step on the item during the Oct. 28 session.
