''The Keeper of the Plains'' is a Cor-Ten steel sculpture by

Kiowa Kiowa () people are a Native American tribe and an indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in Colorado in the 17th and 18th centuries,Pritzker 326 and e ...

- Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin. It stands at the confluence of the

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

and Little Arkansas rivers in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, adjacent to the

Mid-America All-Indian Center The Mid-America All-Indian Center is an American museum dedicated to the history and culture of Native Americans. The museum, which is located along the Arkansas River in the Riverside neighborhood of Wichita, Kansas, is considered the only faci ...

. Surrounding the base of the statue are multiple displays which describe the local tribes that used to inhabit the area, as well as several fire pits which are sometimes lit to illuminate the statue at night. The fire pits, which are known as the Rings of Fire, are lit manually for public safety and run in 15-minute increments. They are generally lit once a night around 7 pm during the winter and at sunset during the summer.

History

The sculpture, commissioned by the city and private organizations to mark the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

, was erected in 1974. It has since become one of Wichita's most recognized and beloved symbols. A spring/summer 2006 project elevated the sculpture on a 30-foot rock promontory so it could be seen from farther away. A profile image of this statue comprises the motif adopted by the 22nd Air Refueling Wing, a U.S. Air Force flying unit which is based at nearby

McConnell Air Force Base McConnell Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located four miles (6 km) southeast of the central business district of Wichita, a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States., effective 2007-12-20 The airbase was named in ...

. From 1993 through 2004, an image of the statue, along with the words "Keeper of the Plains," appeared on the tails of Boeing

KC-135 The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...

air refueling tankers assigned to the 22nd ARW.

In popular culture and the arts

''The Keeper of the Plains'' was mentioned by Christian musician Rich Mullins in his 1991 song "Calling Out Your Name". On March 11, 2021, a photo of the statue was shown as part of a clue on U.S. landmarks on

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...

Gallery

Image:ThisIsAmbient-KeeperOfThePlains-Day.png, ''Keeper of the Plains'' in December, 2010. View from the banks of the Little Arkansas River. Image:ThisIsAmbientv01i010screenshot.jpg, ''Keeper of the Plains'' in December, 2010 at night. View from the banks of the Arkansas River, with the "Ring of Fire" aflame. Image:PlazaWichitaTlalne.jpg, Copy of the statue donated by Wichita to

Tlalnepantla, Mexico Tlalnepantla de Baz is one of 125 municipalities of the state of Mexico, north of Mexico City. The municipal seat and largest city in the municipality is the city of Tlalnepantla. ''Tlalnepantla'' comes from the Náhuatl words ''tlalli'' (land) a ...

, a sister city of Wichita.

External links

Kansas State Historical Society

Outdoor sculptures in Kansas Buildings and structures in Wichita, Kansas Steel sculptures in Kansas Colossal statues in the United States Tourist attractions in Wichita, Kansas 1974 sculptures 1974 establishments in Kansas Sculptures of Native Americans {{Wichita , state=collapsed

History

In popular culture and the arts

Gallery

See also

External links