The Keeper of the Plains

The Keeper of the Plains is a 13.4 metres (44 ft) Cor-Ten steel sculpture by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin. It stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers in Wichita, Kansas adjacent to the Mid-America All-Indian Center. Surrounding the base of the statue are multiple displays which describe the local tribes that used to inhabit this area, as well as several fire pits which sometimes light up 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 sunset during the summer.

The Keeper of the Plains
The Keeper of the Plains, 2015
Coordinates37°41′29″N 97°20′59″W
LocationWichita, Kansas
DesignerBlackbear Bosin
TypeSculpture
MaterialWeathering steel
Height44 ft. (13.4 m)
Completion date1974

History

The sculpture, commissioned by the city and private organizations to mark the United States Bicentennial, 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. 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 air refueling tankers assigned to the 22nd ARW.

The Keeper of the Plains was mentioned by Christian musician Rich Mullins in his 1991 song "Calling Out Your Name".

  • The Keeper at night lit from below and the footbridge spanning the Arkansas River (2013)
  • Keeper of the Plains in December, 2010. View from the banks of the Little Arkansas River.
  • Keeper of the Plains in December, 2010 at night. View from the banks of the Arkansas River, with the "Ring of Fire" aflame.
  • Keeper of the Plains as the sun is setting behind in August 2010.
  • Copy of the statue donated by Wichita to Tlalnepantla, Mexico, a sister city of Wichita.
  • Keeper of the Plains in March, 2017.
gollark: https://www.theregister.com/2019/03/05/ai_gaydar/ (headline is vaguely misleading)
gollark: I blatantly stole it from helloboi.
gollark: I may be referred to as car/cdr if desired.
gollark: The problem with spaces is that you can’t actually see them. So you can’t be sure they’re correct. Also they aren’t actually there anyway - they are the absence of code. “Anti-code” if you will. Too many developers format their code “to make it more maintainable” (like that’s actually a thing), but they’re really just filling the document with spaces. And it’s impossible to know how spaces will effect your code, because if you can’t see them, then you can’t read them. Real code wizards know to just write one long line and pack it in tight. What’s that you say? You wrote 600 lines of code today? Well I wrote one, and it took all week, but it’s the best. And when I hand this project over to you next month I’ll have solved world peace in just 14 lines and you will be so lucky to have my code on your screen <ninja chop>.
gollark: Remove the call stack and do trampolining or something?

See also
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