Read time: 3 min.

Montpelier, Indiana, sits near the old Godfroy Reserve, 840 acres once entrusted to Miami Nation Chief Francois Godfroy for his crucial role in negotiating the 1818 Treaty of St. Mary’s. The community embraces its rich Native American legacy with a unique symbol- a towering Muffler Man-type statue in a cozy downtown park.

Positioned at the southeast corner of East Huntington and South Main streets, the twenty-five-foot figure is a proud testament to Montpelier’s deep-rooted connection to its heritage. That said, I’ve always found it strange to see a solemn historical marker alongside a towering twenty-five-foot fiberglass figure. Maybe it’s just me, but the contrast feels bizarre.

I didn’t know much about the statue’s origin, except that it’s a genuine International Fiberglass Indian. One of at least a dozen created to sell cars, this particular figure originally stood at Dave Waite Pontiac at the corner of 54th Street and Keystone Avenue in suburban Indianapolis¹. An identical Indian stood at Sea Crest Motors, a Cadillac-Pontiac-Mazda dealership in Lynn, Massachusetts².

International Fiberglass made several variants, but other Indian statues stand today in Irving, New York; Riverhead, New York; Lake Wappapello, Missouri; and San Antonio³. I even remember seeing a similar one at the entrance of the YMCA’s Camp Tecumseh in Brookston around 2002, but I think it’s been removed.

After spending fifteen years at Dave Waite Pontiac, Montpelier’s statue was moved to the Museum of Indian Heritage at Eagle Creek Park in Indianapolis. When the institution moved downtown in 1984, Chief Larry Godfroy -the great-great-grandson of Francois- presented the statue to the mayor of Montpelier. Godfroy donated the statue with the understanding that if the Godfroy Reserve was ever to become a state park, the figure would be relocated a final time to its entrance and that the move would come with no expense to the tribe⁴.

Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that the statue will be moved out of downtown Montpelier anytime soon. The presence of two endangered plants -the frog orchid and the small purple-fringed orchid- continue to scuttle efforts to turn the preserve over to the state for public perusal⁵. Thankfully, that means Montpelier will retain its iconic landmark well into the future.

Sources Cited
1 #45 Montpelier, IN – Indian (2013, May 26). American Giants. Web. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
2 Sea Crest Motors: 1977 (2012, May 20). Shorty. The American Historical Photo Archive. Web. Retrieved June 7, 2024. 
3 The Big Indian Question (n.d.). Roadside America. Web.  Retrieved June 7, 2024. 
4 Mills, P. (1984, November 29). Montepelier mayor sees Indian statue as symbol of park’s creation. The Muncie Evening Press. p. 21. 
5 (See footnote 4).