Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin donated his famous work, the "Keeper of the Plains," to the citizens of Wichita in May of 1974. The Keeper of the Plains stands at the confluence of the rivers were his ancestors camped. With his face raised to the sky, he extends his arms in supplication to the Great Spirit. Blackbear Bosin said, "All living creatures are Indians' brothers. The Indian lives in complete accord with nature. Everything around him is holy. All Indians feel this. And the sculpture has a way of appealing to all people with that message." Fabricated from weathered steel, the Keeper has become a symbol for the city and was chosen as one of the official emblems of the 1976 American Bicentennial. The Mid-America All-Indian Center, located where the two rivers meet, will symbolize the coming together of the Indian culture, first within itself and then with the non-Indian.
