If you have been in Wichita for more than five minutes, odds are you have seen it in person, seen it on a t-shirt or seen a sculpture somewhere. What am I talking about? The Keeper of the Plains (aka The Keeper). The Keeper is a 44-foot tall steel sculpture of an American Indian that stands at the confluence of the Little Arkansas and the Arkansas River in downtown Wichita.
This sculpture was donated to Wichita, by it’s creator Francis (Blackbear) Bosin. Bosin was born in Oklahoma in 1921 before moving to Wichita in 1940. He was a Comanche-Kiowa sculptor, but he was also a painter which was his primarily outlet for creativity where his work ranged from watercolors and acrylics and depicted Indian life.
Blackbear served in WWII as a marine before coming back to Wichita to work as a color separator and plate maker as well as an artist for Boeing.
Blackbear passed away in 1980 at the youthful age of 59. Although he has been gone over 40 years now, The Keeper continues to protect and look over Wichita and the plains as it offers a blessing to the sky.
You can visit the Keeper day or night, but check online so you can find the timing for the ring of fire which is typically it at night when the weather is cooperating.
