Muncie Indiana is linked to Bear Lodge Butte in Wyoming, because of the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind. (Bear Lodge is the Native American name for the Devils Tower National Monument) The 1977 Oscar winning film was set in Muncie and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2027. For the anniversary, sculptor Aaron Nicholson is gathering support to build a 12ft iron public sculpture of the Bear Lodge.
Placement of this sculpture is meant to celebrate Muncie’s role in the film as an important contribution to the identity of our city. Our ambition is to complete the project in 2027 in time for the anniversary. If successful, we envision a drone light show and a musical performance at the dedication, choreographed to reenact the mothership flyover from the final scene of the film.
Nicholson is attracted to the idea of placing Nature on a pedestal. The project is intended to respectfully honor the Bear Lodge, its place in American history as the first designated National Monument, its role in Native American cultures, and its connection to Muncie, Indiana. It will be a significant addition to Muncie’s stellar collection of public sculptures and the first to honor the unique landscape of the American West so important to the Native Americans depicted in many of our other monuments.
