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Vision of Peace

Saint Paul, Italy

Vision of Peace

The Vision of Peace is a statue in the three-story memorial concourse lobby along the Fourth Street entrance of the Saint Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The memorial to the Minnesota 20th-century war dead was created by Swedish sculptor Carl Mill

es, who named it Indian God of Peace. He drew on memories of a Native American ceremony he witnessed in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Although there is no connection between Native American spirituality and his own vision, Milles depicted five Native Americans seated around a fire holding sacred pipes. Emerging from the smoke of those pipes is a "god of peace" which Milles imagined speaking to "all the world.” Near the base small cased models show earlier proposals of a statue for this space. Included are Saint Paul, the "Father of Waters" representing the Mississippi River, an idealized out of uniform Doughboy, and a left handed version of the final figure. The statue was unveiled on May 28, 1936, as the Indian God of Peace. Originally there were 340 names to commemorate those who died in World War I. In 1988 the VFW started a funding campaign to add names of Minnesota soldiers who died in combat...

Listen to the audio guide for Vision of Peace Free on WIP — starts by itself when you arrive, even with the screen off

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