Keeper of the Plains

Wichita, Kansas, United States

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Landmarks and monuments

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Listed, not yet checked · Oct 2026

This Big Thing is recorded as still being here.

The Keeper of the Plains is a 44-foot Cor-Ten steel sculpture by Blackbear Bosin, described by the City of Wichita as a renowned Native American artist, standing at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers in Wichita, Kansas. Dedicated in 1974, it was restored and re-dedicated in 2007; fire drums at its base are lit for 15 minutes nightly, weather and river level permitting.

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Keeper of the Plains

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Site-level location · 37.6934° N, 97.3428° W

FIELD GUIDE

The story

In the evening in Wichita, crowds gather at the meeting of two rivers to watch fire drums light around the feet of a 44-foot steel figure. The Keeper of the Plains stands at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers, and the City of Wichita calls it a symbol of the city and a tribute to the Native American tribes who continue to gather at the site.

The sculpture is the work of Blackbear Bosin (1921 to 1980), a Wichita artist, and is 44 feet of Cor-Ten steel. The city says he donated it to the citizens of Wichita in 1974; it was dedicated on 18 May 1974, with Senator Bob Dole present, in connection with the United States Bicentennial. Visit Wichita gives its weight as five tons.

The present setting dates from a later project. The city describes an eight-year, $20 million restoration and river beautification scheme completed in May 2007, and says the renovated Keeper was dedicated on 18 May 2007. It stands on a 30-foot rock promontory above a plaza whose displays describe the Plains Indian way of life, reached by two cable-stay bridges that the city says were inspired by the bow and arrow.

The fire drums, known as the Ring of Fire, burn for 15 minutes each night. They are switched on by hand, and the city says they stay off in high winds, rain or high river levels, or if a person or goose is too close. Visit Wichita gives 9 p.m. in daylight saving time (until 1 November 2026) and 7 p.m. in standard time.

In January 2026 the city said the area is free and open to the public year-round, closed from midnight to 5 a.m.

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PRACTICAL

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WHAT TO EXPECT

A riverside plaza with the sculpture on a rock promontory, reached by two pedestrian bridges. The Ring of Fire burns for 15 minutes nightly, weather and river level permitting: 9 p.m. in daylight saving time (until 1 November 2026), 7 p.m. in standard time (Visit Wichita). In January 2026 the city said the area closes midnight to 5 a.m. and that skateboarding is banned.

ACCESS

The Keeper of the Plains Plaza, 650 N. Seneca, Wichita, Kansas, at the river confluence. In January 2026 the city said the area is free and open year-round except midnight to 5 a.m.; Visit Wichita says it is accessible to wheelchair users.

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Dreamers Awake (Tom Otterness)

Wichita, Kansas

Dreamers Awake is a bronze tableau by Wichita-born sculptor Tom Otterness, completed in 1995, at the Wichita Art Museum, which Visit Wichita places in the museum's Art Garden. A standing female giant and a fallen male figure are overrun by small cartoonish characters.

Public art

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1.4 km away

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