The Montpelier Indian

This statue starred in the opening credits of “Parks and Recreation.” The show takes place in the fictional town of Pawnee, Indiana, and the statue perhaps serves to represent the fictional Wamapoke Indian tribe. But the real story of the statue is far more interesting than a television brief glimpse.

The Montpelier Indian statue is 25 feet tall and made of fiberglass. It was donated to the town in 1984 by Miami Indian Chief Larry Godfroy to commemorate his people's ancestral and former reservation lands. The statue previously served in various locations, including a car dealership in Indianapolis, a museum in Bismarck, North Dakota, and a Native American museum in Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis.

This statue and others like it are often referred to as Muffler Men and have been used as advertising and roadside attractions since the 1960s. It appears Montpelier has adopted the statue and it will welcome visitors for years to come.

There is a plaque in front of the statue noting Miami Indian Chief François/Francis Godfroy entered into a treaty with the United States in 1818 for 3,840 acres of land along the nearby Salamonie River. He was born in 1788 and died in 1840. Godfroy was reported to be a large man, 6 foot+ and about 350 pounds. A commanding figure, but certainly not the subject of the statue, which is a common misconception.

The relationship between Chief Larry Godfroy and Chief François Godfroy is clarified in a resolution from the 113th Indiana General Assembly in 2004, with Larry named as a grandson. If you are going through Montpelier on Indiana State Road 18 and don't know the statue's exact location, just look up (but not while driving) and you cannot miss it.