County of Statue: Osage County.
Location of Statue: Kihekah St. & 6th St., small park, Pawhuska.
Statue Erected by: Gift of Strat and Bobbie Tolson.
Plaque Text:
Seeking to attain his tribe's highest
war honor by touching his enemyThis action among indigenous peoples is called "Counting Coup". One example of counting Coup in Indian wars would be when a warrior would hit his enemy with a stick. This would change the enemies energy, by just letting him know that you are not frightened and if you had really wanted to hurt him you could have. This act of physically touching your enemy without seriously hurting him can take away or disarm the enemy's anger. It creates an opportunity for the enemy to think about, and consider what he is doing and gives him a chance to remember that all life is sacred.