20-Foot-Tall Indian (In Transition)
Vinita, Oklahoma
For nearly 50 years the most retro photo opportunity on the scenic Mohawk Trail in Massachusetts was this 20-foot-tall Indian. The out-of-place Plains chief was the largest in the state, with a long headdress hanging to the ground. It was created by Rodman Shutt, the same artist who had built a similar, but twice-as-tall 40-foot-high Indian in Maine.
The Indian originally stood in front of the Big Indian Gift Shop, which eventually became Big Indian Plaza, and then, in 2009, "Native and Himalayan Views." Local tribal representatives pressured the new owners to significantly modify the statue, but the owners felt that it should be preserved as is in a more appropriate spot. So in August 2023 it was taken down and trucked to Vinita, Oklahoma, to stand alongside Route 66. Its new owners, who have Cherokee and Delaware ancestry, said that they planned to restore the big chief and give him a good home.