OXFORD, Ala. (AP) — City officials have ignored another protest over the city’s decision to destroy a stone mound on a hill behind the Oxford Exchange created by American Indians 1,500 years ago.
Tony Castaneda, of Anniston, and Sharon Jackson, of Fruithurst, who claim to be Indian elders, presented Mayor Leon Smith with a petition Monday containing more than 600 signatures of people opposed to the site’s destruction. The Anniston Star reported Tuesday Smith became agitated when the two arrived at City Hall, took the petition and went back inside.
Castaneda and Jackson collected more signatures at City Hall that evening. The state Historical Commission says the mound is the largest of its kind in Alabama. The city paid to have part of the hill taken down for fill at a Sam’s Club.
