The Colorado mountain town of Vail is accused of violating an artist’s free speech rights after it removed her from the town’s Artist in Residence program this past summer, a lawsuit filed on Monday claims.

The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU of Colorado representing artist Danielle SeeWalker, alleges Vail officials violated her free speech after kicking her out for a personal painting she posted on social media.

SeeWalker, a Húŋkpapȟa Lakȟóta artist and muralist, was dismissed from Vail’s residence program due to a pro-Palestinian painting she posted on social media platform Instagram. ACLU’s lawsuit claims Vail violated SeeWalker’s free speech rights for expressing personal views of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In November 2023, Vail instituted a plan to diversify artists and perspective in its public art collection under its 32-year-old Art in Public Places (AIPP) program. In that process, the town in January selected SeeWalker to take part in its Artist in Residence program, according to the lawsuit.

For nearly two decades, Vail has worked to build a residency program and a dedicated workspace for artists to come and create in town, according to the Vail Daily.

For a few months, Vail officials would plan to secure lodging for SeeWalker and her family, and the art projects that she would take on throughout the summer.

In April, SeeWalker posted artwork to her social media Instagram page titled “G is for Genocide.”

The artwork, as ACLU’s lawsuit describes it, “draws parallels between the genocide of Indigenous peoples in the Americas and the crisis in the Gaza Strip,” according to a Monday news release.

“The piece had no relationship with the AIPP program or SeeWalker’s residency,” ACLU officials added. “Nonetheless, the town of Vail decided to cancel SeeWalker’s residency because of the views SeeWalker expressed in her post.”

ACLU officials called Vail’s decision “invidious viewpoint discrimination,” claiming the town’s deputy manager told SeeWalker that because she expressed personal views on the war in Gaza, that she can’t create art in the town.

In its news release, ACLU attorneys claimed SeeWalker’s dismissal from Vail’s program caused her to lose out on job opportunities, financial struggles with her two children, emotional distress and shock.

“Hearing that my residency was canceled because I shared my perspective as a Native woman on parallels between what happened to my own ancestors and what’s happening to people today in Gaza was disheartening,” SeeWalker said in a statement.

ACLU officials noted the organization filed the lawsuit on Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

SeeWalker added: “Native American voices have been censored for generations. Vail and other local governments need to know they can’t deny our constitutional rights in this way.”

When contacted by the Denver Gazette, Vail town manager’s office officials said they are aware of the filing and don’t comment on pending litigation.