On the shores of Bemidjigamaag

Chief Bemidji is how most of us know him. In his life he was Shenowishkung a soft-spoken, friendly, and well-liked man. He was leader of (speaker for) about fifty people who had settled the land between the waters, well before white settlers arrived.

Born in 1833, he lived his whole life in the Leech Lake and Cass Lake area, playing and travelling the river as a boy, and speaking for his people when he was a man. He died at his home North of Cass Lake on April 20, 1904. There was a large public funeral for him. He is believed to buried in the Mission area near Cass Lake. A monument to him was erected in Greenwood cemetery.

A man named Gustave Hinsch built a wooden statue of Bemidji/Shenowishkung in 1893. It was moved to many places before being donated to and placed in Library Park. It was replaced by the soft-featured concrete version that stands there now, though its remains are still held by the historical society today.

There are many people who would like to see a third version take its place as an honoring memorial to this city's namesake.

The idea is to create a coalition of citizens; including the Bemidji Sculpture Walk Committee, the Shared Visions group, and the City of Bemidji, as well as all other interested groups or individuals.

We would seek out skilled artists both locally and nationally to apply for a commission to create a lifelike bronze statue of this beloved man.

I think it is important to remember that he really was a man, flesh and blood, with strengths and weaknesses, with a history to his life and a meaning in it beyond the application of his name to a Northern Minnesota town over 100 years ago.

That said, I would like to see an honorable and not a comical rendition of his living likeness on display in a place of honor. It will be seen and touched and talked about for years, and so it should be special.

I grew up here, born in 1974, and I have seen many changes in this town for good and bad. I am nostalgic about the loss of things that remind me of my life here that are gone now: the Markam Motel (for reasons I can't explain), the old Morell's (where I bought drums and ninja stars as a child), the St. Phillip's bell tower (I climbed up inside it once), the Swings at the old Paul Bunyan waterfront park.

I am not one to callously wipe out old architecture and build anew in the ashes. I mourn the loss of things I barely remember, but can clearly see have gone away. But I do embrace positive, well-thought out, community sanctioned growth.

That means some things need to be respectfully taken down and cared for, leaving room for new imaginings based upon what we believe to be important today.

We are always learning, always adjusting our world views based on new information and new relationships. I believe it is time to remove the "play-dough" Chief Bemidji Statue of my childhood, to give it to the care and curatorship of the Historical Society, and to collectively oversee the placement of a new and beautiful rendition of the body and face of the man we know so little about, but to whom we owe our very name. I am proud of the name. I want to be proud of the statue. What do you think?