Sitting at a prominent intersection in Muncie, Indiana, this bronze statue, titled Appeal to the Great Spirit, is a replica of the original located in front of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts.
At the Muncie site, a single plaque notes that the statue was placed in memory of Edward Burke Ball (1855–1925) by his wife and children. This copy was approved by Cyrus Dallin, who sculpted the original statue in 1908. Ball was one of the five Ball brothers who owned Ball Manufacturing in Muncie and produced the famous Ball home canning jars.
While the original in Boston has been the subject of decades of artistic and cultural debate, Muncie’s replica stands quietly at a roundabout, serving as a curious echo of one of America’s most discussed sculptures. It’s a reminder that even fine art can be duplicated when local pride, and a little industrial wealth, are involved.
