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August 18th 2023: Waving goodbye to "The Big Indian" statue

Roadside statue removed from Route 2
Alden Bourne
Roadside statue removed from Route 2

What happened to the so-called "Big Indian" statue on Route 2? Monte is joined Rhonda Anderson, who is the Western Massachusetts Commissioner on Indian Affairs, founder and Co-Director of the Ohketeau Cultural Center and the Native Youth Empowerment Foundation, and a member of the Advisory Council for the New England Foundation for the Arts. And Tomantha Sylvester an Indigenous (Ojibwe) artist and Community Advocate through the Ohketeau Cultural Center. Tomantha also circulated a petition to remove the statue, which received more than 1,300 signatures and led to communication with the owners of the shop on Route 2. And long-time Greenfield Recorder reporter, Richie Davis, on his new collection of profiles of interesting people in The 413 called Flights of Fancy, Souls of Grace. A Wine Thunderdome with Benson and Bruce and Toni from Provisions, tasting Northern Italian whites. And Live Music Friday with Northampton-based King Radio who are playing PERFORMANCE

Christopher “Monte'' Belmonte is host and executive producer of NEPM's The Fabulous 413. He was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been a radio host in western Massachusetts for the last 20 years — the last 17 of them as host of Mornings with Monte on The River 93.9/WRSI.
Kaliis Smith is a radio host and producer for NEPM's The Fabulous 413. She was most recently host and producer at The River 93.9/WRSI where she appeared on Mornings with Monte for the Nerdwatch segment and hosted weekday evenings.