Peace Monuments in North Central States (USA) (States of MN, MT, ND, SD & WY)

Right click image to enlarge.

January 29, 1879 - Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, Montana (USA). "The site was first preserved as a national cemetery on January 29, 1879, and in 1881 a memorial obelisk by Durwood Brandon (left image) was erected on Last Stand Hill over the mass grave of the solidiers of the 7th Calvery."

1903 - Wounded Knee Monument, Pine Ridge Reservation, South Dakota (USA). Commemorates the massacre of Wounded Knee on Dec. 29, 1890. "In 1903 a monument was erected at the site of the mass grave by surviving relatives to honor the 'many innocent women and children who knew no wrong' who were killed in the massacre. Today, some family members are still seeking compensation from the US government as heirs of the victims but they have been unsuccessful in receiving any monetary settlement so far."

May 24, 1907 - Statue of Peace, Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi (USA). The 90-foot high monument, constructed of Mt. Airy granite, features the statue of "Peace" that was sculpted by William Couper. In her hands, "Peace" holds a sword and a shield to signify that the soldiers of both armies have placed the weapons of war in her eternal care. Built by State of Minnesota.

June 18, 1932 - Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, Alberta (Canada) & Montana (USA). Oldest international peace park. Established on the initiative of Rotary International. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Left image is cover of Saturday Evening Post for August 5, 1961, showing a happy family on the international border. Click here for Glacier Waterton National Parks Visitors Association. Click here for Wikipedia article. Entry #1210 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

M U S E U M

July 14, 1932 - International Peace Garden, Dunseith, North Dakota (USA) and Boissevain, Manitoba (Canada). "2,339 acre botanical garden on the world’s longest unfortified border." Includes two 20-story concrete Peace Towers, Peace Chapel, and 9/11 Memorial. Click here for Wikipedia article. Entry #1209 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1936 - "Vision of Peace," Memorial Concouse, St. Paul City Hall, St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). Largest carved onyx figure in the world. Weighs 60 tons & oscillates 66 degrees left & right. Although dedicated in 1936 to the war veterans of Ramsey County, pacifist sculptor Carl Milles [1875-1955] sipulated that it should symbolize world peace. Officially named "Vision of Peace" in 1994. Milles also created "God the Father of the Rainbow" in Stockholm, Sweden (qv). Entry #542 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

April 25, 1947 - Theodore Roosevelt National Park, National Park Service (NPS), Medora, North Dakota (USA). Includes Roosevelt's two ranches: Maltese Cross (restored) & Elkhorn (remote). Established as Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park in 1947 and became a National Park in 1978. Roosevelt first went to ND in 1883 and spent about 300 days there over a 10 year period. Theodore Roosevelt [1858-1919] was US President 1901-1909 and received the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize.

June 3, 1948 - Crazy Horse Memorial, Black Hills, South Dakota (USA). "Carved into a mountain, in the tradition of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial (on which Korczak Ziolkowski [1908-1982] had worked with Gutzon Borglum). The sculpture was begun by Ziolkowski in 1948. When completed, it will be 641 feet (195 m) wide and 563 feet (172 m) high." 60th anniversary was celebrated in 2008 (logo at right).

July 14, 1982 - US postage stamp commemorating the 50th anniversary of the International Peace Garden, Dunseith, North Dakota (USA) and Boissevain, Manitoba (Canada).

1985 - Statue of Jennette Rankin, Statuary Hall, US Capitol, Washington, DC (USA). Duplicate of statue by Terry Mimnaugh honoring Jennette Rankin [1880-1973] in state capitol, Helena, Montana (USA). Entry #1117 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

1980 - Statue of Jennette Rankin, Second Floor, State Capitol, Helena, Monana (USA). Original of statue by Terry Mimnaugh honoring Jennette Rankin [1880-1973] in Statuary Hall, US Capitol, Washington, DC (USA). Entry #576 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

Date? - Peace Plaza, First Street (by the Mayo Cliinic), Rochester, Minnesota (USA). Renovated with ribbon cutting on June 19, 2008.

June 5, 1994 - Ohara Peace Bell, Enger Park, Duluth, Minneasota (USA). Cast by Oigo Bell Works, Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture (Japan). Commemorates sister city relationship with Ohara (now Isumi), Chiba Prefecture (Japan). Replaces bell cast in 1686 for Cho-ei Temple in Ohara which was brought to Duluth by sailors of the USS Duluth in 1946 and returned to Ohara on May 2, 1954. Right image is the original bell (now called the Japan-US Friendship Peace Bell). Middle image shows children's book about the bell by Margi Preus (2008). The story is also told in Resonance, a film by Square Lake Productons, Stillwater, Minnesota (USA).

1995 - "Heroes of Freedom, Justice and Peace," 175 Concord Street, St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). Mural by Craig Davis. Depicts eight peacemakers. Maintained by El Burrito Mercado.

1998 - Peace Garden, Lyndale Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA). Includes a peace rock garden (qv) and stones from Hiroshima & Nagasaki (qv). Designated an International Peace Site in 1999. Entry #523 in the "Peace Movement Directory" by James Richard Bennett (2001).

M U S E U M

2000 - Traces Center for History and Culture, Landmark Center, 75 West Fifth Street (Suite 211), St. Paul, Minnesota (USA). Traces "preserves and present stories of people from the Midwest and Germany or Austria who encountered each other during World War II." It is "a peace project presenting itself as a history museum," according o founder/executive director Michael Luick-Thrams. Traces has six exhibits documenting Friends' responses to the Holocaust: AFSC's refugee centers at Scattergood Hostel [in Iowa] and at Quaker Hill in Richmond, Indiana; Leonard Kenworthy's year in wartime Berlin helping would-be refugees get out of the Third Reich; Clarence Pickett's two fact-finding tours to Nazi Germany; and others. Clarence Pickett [1884-1965] accepted the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). Landmark Center is a former Federal courthouse, built circa 1896, around a six-story neoclassical Victorian atrium. Click here for an article by the founder. Has traveling exhibit (as seen in bottom image).

November 11, 2001 - Ring of Peace, First United Methodist Church, Beech & 2nd Streets, Casper, Wyoming (USA). By Chris Navarro. "You may remember that Matthew Shepherd, a young gay man, was murdered by homophobes in Laramie, Wyoming, in the late 1990s. There's nothing in Laramie to commemorate him, but if you visit the website his parents created, they recommend you see a statue called the Ring of Peace in Casper, that's dedicated first to Matthew, and also to the victims of the Columbine shootings [and 9/11]... a nice idea, but it's just sad how run down and crappy it looks. It was possible for me to take a nice picture of it, but only if I was very careful to crop out almost all the surroundings."

2002 - Spirit Warriors Sculpture," Little Big Horn Battlefield National Monument, Crow Agency, Montana (USA). Iron sculpture by native artist Colleen Cutschall honoring Native Americans was placed next to the 1881 memorial (qv) after winning a "Peace Through Unity" competition. "On the memorial's walls are the names of many of the warriors involved in the battle and words of wisdom they are credited with saying. A "Spirit Gate Window" in the memorial's side looks directly at the Custer memorial on the hill in a gesture to welcome the Calvary dead into the memorial's circle."

2003 - Garden for Peace , Cheyenne Botanical Gardens, Lions Park, Cheyenne, Wyoming (USA). "The Cheyene Botanic Garden [sic] attracts over 25,000 visitors each year, representing all 50 states and over 30 countries. It is open year-round and admission is free."

Date? - Hands sculpture, Lake Superior waterfront, Duluth, Minnesota (USA). Six pairs of cupped hands supporting a dove of peace.

October 25, 2006 - "Spirit of Peace," Lake Harriet Peace Garden, Lyndale Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA). Sculpture by artist Caprice Glaser topped by giant "origami" peace crane.

September 11, 2008 - Circle Wind (PAX2008), Tribal Connections site, Devils Tower National Monument (Wyoming). "Also called the 'Sacred Circle of Smoke.' Interprets Devils Tower as place that is sacred to many Native American tribes. Created by internationally renowned Japanese artist Junkyu Muto (who lives in Italy) as the third in a series of seven 'peace sculptures' planned for significant sites around the world. Two other peace sculptures have already been erected – one at the Vatican in 2000, and the other at Buddha Gaya, India, in 2005 [sic]."