The Bust of  Chief Wawasee

The Syracuse High School Class of 1966 left over $600 “to purchase busts of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to be placed in the four alcoves in the lobby of the Wawasee High School auditorium. If the full amount is
not spent for these items, the balance is to be applied to an Indian statue.” Eli Lilly, a longtime resident and community benefactor, was interested in helping the class with the project.

William Henry Harrison (first governor of Indiana Territory) was chosen to join Washington and Lincoln, but the “Indian” – Chief Wawasee – presented a problem. What did a typical Miami chief look like? Jane Nesbit (former teacher at the John Herron Art Institute of Indianapolis) was commissioned to do Lincoln and Chief Wawasee. Since there were no likenesses of ”Wau-wa-aus-see,” Miss Nesbit worked with prints of local Indians in the Indiana State Library and the anthropology department of Indiana University to develop her statue. After the busts were done in clay and sent to New England to be cast in bronze, Mr. Lilly did not like the effect of some of the treatments and sent them back to be redone. This bust, in the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum, is the rejected first cast.

For the sake of brevity, Ann Garceau condensed an article from “CRUZIN AROUND ‘CUSE,” 2/23/1983, authored by Lewis S. Immel, school superintendent at the time the busts were created.