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City Council To Consider New Chief Bemidji Statute

BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) -- The Bemidji City Council considers Monday night whether to back a new, more realistic statue of Chief Bemidji.

The Pioneer newspaper says a statue committee hopes to commission a high-quality, life-size or larger statue of Chief Bemidji, made of stone, bronze or other permanent material, and locate it in or near Library Park. Backers want a piece of fine art to replace the park's current folk-art statue. The current statue would likely be relocated to the County History Center.

No city money has have been requested. The committee plans to seek grants. The project budget is $116,500.

The 19-member statue committee includes descendants of Chief Bemidji and members of local Ojibwe bands.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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