Text on plaques:
FRONT -
MAHASKA
LEFT - The Ioways, a powerful tribe of Indians
for which the State of Iowa was named
at one time inhabited the southeastern
portion of the territory which now
constitutes the State of Iowa and which
includes in its boundaries
the county of Mahaska.
REVERSE - Presented to the City of Oskalooska
by
James Depew Edmundson
in memory of his father
William Edmundson
who settled in Iowa in 1836 and who
as Sheriff under appointment by the
territorial legislature had charge
of the organization of Mahaska County
which was completed on the 13 day of May 1844.
RIGHT - Mahaska, for whom Mahaska County
was named, was a chief of the Ioway
Tribe of Indiands. He lived in peace
with the white man and was
slain by an Indian in 1834
at the age of fifty years
in what was is now Cass County, Iowa.
From Wikipedia on Mahaska:
(
visit link)
"Mahaska (archaic Ioway Maxúshga pronounced [mõxu??k?]; contemporary Maxúhga), or White Cloud, (1784 – 1834) was a chief of the Native American Iowa tribe.
Mahaska was born into the Iowa tribe. He became chief at an early age after killing several enemy Sioux to avenge his father’s death by them.
Later Mahaska killed a French trader in an argument; he was arrested and imprisoned in St. Louis, Missouri. After he escaped, he led a raid against the Osage.
Afterward, he decided that his father’s death was finally avenged. Mahaska lay down his arms and adopted the lifestyle of the European-American settlers, building a log home and farming. He refused to let his braves avenge the death of an Iowa chief named Crane at the hands of Omaha Indians in 1833. When several Iowa killed six Omaha warriors, Mahaska assisted in their arrest.
The next year one of the Iowa escaped from Fort Leavenworth and killed Mahaska by shooting him in the back as he sat by his campfire. He was buried along the Nodaway River in Edna Township, Cass County, Iowa.
Chief Mahaska became a symbol to settlers of the virtues of his native lifestyle, and of the possibility of peace between natives and settlers.
Sculptor Sherry Edmundson Fry's earliest public commission was a bronze statue of Mahaska. Recently restored, it still stands on its pedestal in the courthouse square of Oskaloosa, which is the governmental seat of Mahaska County, Iowa, in the southeastern section of the state. At the right of the base is the artist's signature "S.E. Fry, 1907.""
From SIRIS:
(
visit link)
"SCULPTOR:
Fry, Sherry Edmundson 1879-1966
FOUNDER:
Gruet
CONTRACTOR:
McCall Granite Works
SUBJECT:
Mahaska
MEDIUM:
Sculpture: cast bronze; Base: grey granite
CULTURE:
Indian
TYPE:
Sculptures-Outdoor Sculpture
Sculptures
OWNER/LOCATION:
Administered by City of Oskaloosa Park Board City Hall, 220 South Market Oskaloosa Iowa 52577
Located City Park Market Street Oskaloosa Iowa
DATE:
1907. Dedicated May 12, 1909
TOPIC:
Portrait male--Full length
Occupation--Other--Chief
Ethnic--Iowa
CONTROL NUMBER:
IAS IA000009
NOTES:
Save Outdoor Sculpture, Iowa survey, 1994
Mahaska County Historical Society, "Mahaska County - Our Rich Heritage," Oskaloosa, Iowa: Mahaska County Historical Society, April 1961
SOS Assessment Award, 1998
SOS Conservation Treatment Award, 1998
SOS Conservation Notification Report, 1999
SOS Achievement Award, 2000
SUMMARY:
Standing figure of Chief Mahaska of the Ioway tribe, dressed in a heavy animal skin robe, long pants, and moccasins. On his head he wears a small feathered headdress. With his proper left arm he wraps his animal skin robe around him. His proper right hand holds a large bird wing down by his side. The sculpture is mounted on a tall, stepped grey granite base. The base is adorned with four bronze plaques, one with a brief account of the life of Chief Mahaska, one with the story of the Ioway Indians, one with dedication information, and one with the name Mahaska.
DATA SOURCE:
Art Inventories Catalog, Smithsonian American Art Museums"