The Keeper of the Plains is a monumental steel sculpture in Wichita, Kansas, at the meeting of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers beside the Mid-America All-Indian Center. Created in 1974 by Kiowa-Comanche artist Blackbear Bosin for the United States Bicentennial, it stands 44 feet tall and became one of the city’s best-known landmarks. In 2006 it was elevated on a 30-foot rock promontory, making it more prominent across the river landscape. Interpretive displays around its base address Native peoples of the area, and the nightly Rings of Fire add to its dramatic setting. Over time, it has come to symbolize both Wichita and public recognition of the region’s Indigenous history.

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Wichita, Kansas · USA