Whispering Giant Sculpture - Corner 6th Ave SE & 3rd St SE
On a whim, 24-year-old college dropout Peter Wolf Toth (rhymes with "oath") stopped along the California shore and began to carve a giant head into a seaside cliff. Upon his return the following day to the site, a crowd had gathered.
The local paper characterized the partially complete sculpture as an Indianhead. In a 1989 interview, Toth admitted, “Subconsciously I may have carved an Indian. I was always interested in these noble people.”
He eventually returned to his adopted hometown of Akron, Ohio and carved a second Indianhead in from a dead elm tree stump a local city park. Toth eventually realized his life's mission:to call attention to the history of Native Americans whose plight seemed to parallel his early childhood.
"I will make a sculpture of an Indian, to honor them in each of the fifty states." He referred to his effort as his "Trail of Whispering Giants."
Toth's "Whispering Giant" in 2024
Born in Hungary, Peter Toth's family was forced to relocate to Poland. Then at age 9, his family fled again, this time by foot and train, to Yugoslavia during the rebellion in 1956. They moved from one refugee camp to another. The family eventually immigrated to Ohio. His early life paralleled that of many Native Americans with multiple relocations, subjected to violence and repression.
"My monuments are made to remind people of the contributions of the Indians of this country," Toth said, "Statues to honor the plight of the Native Peoples of North America."
He grew up watching his father carve wood. Supplemented with some formal training in college (he considers himself a self-taught artist) and using mostly just a hammer and chisel, Toth created the sculptures. He based their physical features and adornments in consultation with regional tribal members. "[It] is my concept of the Indians of ... the area ... [I] visualize an Indian within the log. It is a composite of all the native people of the state."
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With the exception of his first sculpture in California, carvings were done in local woods. Intended as a composite image of the eight North Dakota tribes, it resembles his other statues with a craggy, Methuselah-ancient look.
After abandoning the initial effort on a tree in Jaycee Park which was found to be hollow and in poor condition, the Helbling family donated a healthy cottonwood tree nearby. Cottonwood had been used by the Mandan Indians to build their earth lodges. The statue would later be treated with wood preservatives to protect it against the weather.
The sculpture was formally dedicated on November 24, 1981 and given to the people of North Dakota. Originally intended to be installed at the Heritage Center in Bismarck, Toth was put off by the time delay and red tape associated with selection of a state-owned site.
He agreed to a south Mandan location after the Helbling Family donated the corner of the parking lot at one of their businesses, with the plan to donate the land to the local Park District. Toth liked the location; on the route to Standing Rock Indian Reservation and near the ND Highway 1806 Sitting Bull Bridge across the Heart River and out to the Mandan Slant Indian Village at Ft. Lincoln State Park. Toth wanted locations with high visibility and full access for the public.
Costs associated with the wood substrate and the carving's base were typically donated locally. Toth accepted no money for his labors. His intent was to donate the monuments as a gift to his adopted country. He lived on earnings from odd jobs and the sale of small carved objects he would work on in the evenings. Sometimes city governments, Park Departments, Chambers of Commerce and private individuals would assist by covering his living expenses or by providing needed materials and services.
He also wrote a book "Indian Giver" to chronicle significant aspects of his life and efforts to complete the "Trail of Whispering Giants." The book was periodically updated and reissued to include the entire mission finishing with the 4th edition.
After completing the Mandan statue, Peter Toth and his wife Kathy traveled to Alaska to begin his next carving. He completed his initial goal to erect one carving in all 50 states in May 1989. The Polynesian head in Hawaii was actually statue number 58, as a few states had multiple statues and Canada had already received two. The series ended with a total of 73 monuments across the United States and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario. He also made a 74th carving in his native country of Hungary to honor their King Stephen I.
In a 2009 interview, Toth was quoted as saying “I’ve worked for people that have faced injustice and it was always my dream to utilize my God-given talent to specifically help the American Indians, who I feel have been victims of injustice. But my work goes way beyond the Native Americans. It’s centrally for humanity.”
2007 With Center Feather
Mandan’s statue, 39th in the series, was originally 25 feet high (including 3.5 foot high base) with a full feather in the center rear of the head dress. The octagon-shaped poured concrete base was initially covered with a brick veneer.
But in 2013, the base was struck by a car in an accident, ripping the brick covering off the base. The statue's plinth was reworked in 2014 by the City of Mandan staff to its current round shape and its veneer replaced with a stacked stone design. The dedication plaque was also refurbished by L&H Manufacturing and reinstalled.
2024 Without Center Feather
In 2020, most of the tall center head dress feather fell off after a storm. Wood rot in the area was noted and may have been damaged in 2012 incident. The damaged area was Mandan city staff in an attempt to preserve the rest of the monument.
The change leaves only a spray-shaped bunting to adorn the headband and the stub of the former feather. The carving now stands just short of 20 feet including the base.
The Mandan Historical Society appreciatesthe assistance from Mayor Tim Helbling to provide photos information about both the 2013 damage and the City of Mandan's involvement in maintaining the monument.
The MHSoc's museum and office is located at 3827 30th Avenue NW; Mandan, ND 58554 Contact us at info@mandanhistory.org
