BEMIDJI — Since 1965, a larger-than-life fiberglass statue of a Native American has stood across the street from Bemidji’s massive Paul and Babe statues.
On Monday, March 31, the statue was taken down and shipped off to start its new life in Illinois.
Roxanne Mann has had a tumultuous month since closing Morell’s Chippewa Trading Post in February.
Morell’s will have new owners, who are moving the business closer to Bemidji State University. It is expected to open again soon.
Mann said the 18-foot statue, first erected in the 1960s, was one of only a few ever made, originally to sell car parts.
“He's a Muffler Man. And these statues were made to advertise muffler shops all over the United States,” Mann explained, describing the Muffler Men that came in Paul Bunyan and cowboy versions, too. "There's a website for them that tells you what they are, and according to the website, he's Nanaboozhoo.”
According to the website’s version of Ojibwe legend, Nanaboozhoo beat Paul Bunyan to death with a fish, and to atone for the crime, he had to signal Paul in an eternal salute.
In most Ojibwe legends, Nanaboozhoo is a trickster entity and cultural hero known to protect and even create life while also breaking some rules.
His statue will be placed at the American Giants Museum in Atlanta, Illinois, after undergoing some restoration. Nanaboozhoo’s new location will also be visible from a wayside rest on the iconic Route 66.
"We're going to redo his internal structure, and then he'll go to the museum,” said Michael Younkin, one of the crewmembers of Re-Giant, a specialist in fiberglass statue restoration who was on hand for removing the statue.
With a new “skeleton,” Younkin said the statue will have a much longer life. For the last several years, a tree has obscured some of the statue, and his weathered face shows his age.
Mann, 68, is retiring after running the trading post for 30 years and said she is looking forward to the next chapter of her life.
Mann said the nonprofit museum will be “the best place for him” as she bade a tearful goodbye to what had long been a signature part of the Bemidji landscape.
