#JusticeForShane
#ForShane
by Ryan Netterville
(with Karen Van Fossan)
At age 28, Shane Netterville was shot and killed by a Fargo Police Officer, just a few weeks before his birthday. Following the shooting this past summer, his brother Ryan Netterville created this artwork in Shane’s honor.
Shane had two bear paws on his chest. I was talking about it to my sister, and in memory of him, I’m going to get this on my chest whenever I can afford to get it done. I might tweak it and make it more simple. The other bear paw, with all the initials, that’s the last of us that are still alive: Gary, Matt, me, Jolissa, and Maven. We’re the perfect number now to fit on the five finger parts. That’s the rest of the kids that are still alive.
I made it because for our mom’s grave, that plastic thing they put on the ground, the marker, was busted up. I didn’t want that for Shane. I wanted something that will last, something nice for the family. The picture of him is from the obituary. Those are the only pictures I actually have of Shane. I put hooks on there, because I thought of everyone else – if other people want to put stuff there, too. I included the Medicine Wheel, but we don’t know much about all of our Native heritage, because we don’t talk as a family about that. I also hung some feathers on it.
Statement
Honestly, with this whole thing and how everything’s gone on, I feel like I died that day, too. I want no recognition. You could put Anonymous on it, and it wouldn’t bother me. It’s just something I wanted to do for him, something that needed to be done for Shane. It’s one last thing I can do.
RRCC 