Wichita’s Nightly Ring of Fire
By Tom Adkinson
January 21, 2022

Ring of Fire in Wichita, Kansas. Image by Tom Adkinson

WICHITA, Kansas – Johnny Cash may have sung “Ring of Fire” more times than he could count, but Wichita lights up a real ring of fire every night the elements permit to cast a special glow on a towering sculpture called the Keeper of the Plains. The statue is a tribute to Native American cultures.

The 44-foot-tall steel statue is atop a 30-foot rock promontory, and it depicts a native leader with his hands raised in supplication to the Great Spirit, according to a description from the City of Wichita. It is at the confluence of the Big and Little Arkansas rivers at the center of a plaza that describes the Plains Indian way of life.

Invoking the Great Spirit. Image by Tom Adkinson

Native American artist Blackbear Bosin donated the Keeper of the Plains to the city in 1974 during the U.S. bicentennial celebration. Almost 30 more pieces of Bosin’s work are nearby at the Mid-America All-Indian Museum.

Unless inclement weather or high water intrude, every evening (including the January 29 marking of Kansas statehood in 1861) is highlighted by a “Ring of Fire” event in which fire drums on boulders at the foot of the statue burn brightly for 15 minutes. In warm months, kayakers can observe nearby as the flames illuminate the sky and reflect off the rippling water.