Statue Of Marjorie Tallchief To Return To Tulsa Historical Society In 2023

The Tulsa Historical Society is getting ready to reinstall the Marjorie Tallchief statue after it was stolen more than six months ago.

The pieces from the statue just came back from the foundry and are ready to start being put together.

The Historical Society said thanks to several people who donated, they will be able to make the new statue better than ever.

The Five Moons statues sit on the west side of the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum and show five Native American ballerinas.

But back in April, the statue of Marjorie Tallchief was stolen, broken into parts, and sold to a recycling plant in Catoosa.

"When this first horrific event happened last spring, we all were in a state of shock,” said Michelle Place, the Executive Director of the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum.

The new pieces just arrived from the foundry in Norman and are ready to be put back together.

Place said she is happy the Marjorie Tallchief statue will come back to life soon and the Five Moons will be complete again.

"They represent multiple tribes from the state of Oklahoma,” said Place. “So they're such a part of our state's history."

The money from the GoFundMe will also help the historical society make the statues more secure, so hopefully this won’t happen again.

One of the ways they are looking at keeping the statues safe is bringing them up closer to the museum.

"Now, we're going to be able to add additional security, additional lighting,” said Place.

She said even though this has been an emotional time for the historical society, it has given them the chance to teach more people about the Five Moons and Marjorie Tallchief.

"One of the advantages or good things that have come out of this really bad situation is the fact that we get to tell the story again and again,” Place said.

The historical society said the statue should be in place by the late spring/early summer and when that happens, they will hold a celebration for it.