Carl Rohl-Smith's sculpture portraying a scene from Juliette Kinzie's account of the Fort Dearborn Massacre was commissioned by George Pullman and installed near Pullman's mansion and the presumed site of the conflict. The monument was removed from the site in 1931, and was later installed in the lobby of the Chicago Historical Society. In the 1970s American Indian groups protested the display of the monument as a false representation of Indians. With the revival of the Prairie Avenue Historic District during the 1990s, the statue was reinstalled near 18th Street and Prairie Avenue, close to its original site. The statue subsequently was removed by the Office of Public Art of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and placed in storage for conservation reasons. The significance of the monument now may lie as much in its own history as in the historical events it purports to represent. A corner of the Soldier Field (1924) colonnade can be seen behind the stone wall to the left of the monument.

Photographer: Chicago Daily News / Sculptor: Carl Rohl-Smith
Source: Chicago Historical Society (DN-0058260)