Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park

Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park. . This visionary art environment was created by the artist Ed Galloway (1880-1963) between the years of 1937 and 1963 as a monument to the American Indian. During the twenty-six years that Ed and his wife Villie lived on this parcel of land, Ed constructed the twelve structures found on this site almost entirely with his own two hands. The Native American motif speaks directly to the history of the land of Oklahoma which was known as Indian Territory before the state of Oklahoma was established in 1907, but also to the shifting social realities of western expansion. It was in Indian Territory where the tragic Trail of Tears terminated, depositing tribes from the south-eastern United States to the landscape now called Oklahoma. Ed believed that the original inhabitants of this land should be honored and remembered. By looking at these monumental sculptures, one can see his devotional act and reverence for Native America. , Native American portraits (mostly whom are depicted wearing feather headdresses or warbonnets, a tradition specific to the Northern Plains tribes) and various wildlife motifs adorn the structures which mimic the totem poles of the Haida and the Tlingit tribes from present-day Alaska. The Fiddle House, formerly Ed Galloway's workshop and currently the gift shop and museum, is an eleven-sided building said to be modeled after the hogan, a multi-use architectural form from the Navajo culture. Specific Native American chiefs, leaders, and warriors have been identified among the many bas-relief portraits. Sitting Bull (Hunkpapa Lakota), Quanah Parker (Comanche), Chief Joseph (Nez Pierce), and Geronimo (Chiricahua Apache) stand at the top of the main totem facing north, south, east and west, respectively. It is said that on the large arrowhead, located south of the main totem, one can see dedications to the “Five Tribes” of Oklahoma, the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole, and Muscogee (Creek). However, these tribes have never worn warbonnets. Ed's reverie for these cultures romanticizes and illustrates the common misconceptions of the era, that Native America is monolithic or homogenous. , The largest totem rises from the back of an enormous turtle which was carved from an outcrop of sandstone evoking the indigenous term ‘Turtle Island,’ or North America. This concrete totem features over 200 hand-sculpted bas-relief creatures and Native American portraits. It is estimated that twenty-eight tons of cement, six tons of steel, and one hundred tons of sand and rock comprise the ninety-foot tall structure that sook Ed eleven years to complete. He collected the sand that he used for the cement from a creek bed running on the west side of his property, and he gathered scrap metal and house paint from his neighbors. The creation of Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park was not only an act of intrepid imagination, but thankfully, community collaboration. ,

“All my life I did the best I knew … , I built these things by the side of the road , to be a friend to you.”

– Ed Galloway , We hope that you enjoy walking the grounds and visiting the Fiddle House Gift Shop and Museum. Throughout the park you will see small signs with QR codes where you can access more information, stories, and legends. These codes are scannable with your smartphonr camera and will direct you to more photos and details about Ed Galloway's life an incredible vision. , Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park is owned and operated by the Rogers County Historical Society. It has been free and open to the public since Ed Galloway began creating this monumental sculpture park. As a small non-profit, we operate solely on donations and sales from the gift shop. We hope you will consider contributing so that we can maintain and preserve Ed Galloway's visionary art environment. Scan the code below to donate digitally or leave a cash donation in the gift shop. , Text by Erin Turner, Site Curator and Restoration Artist, 2021 , All photos courtesy of Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park Archive