Hiawatha and Minnehaha, Bronze sculpture in Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, US.
Hiawatha and Minnehaha is a bronze sculpture in Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis, showing a man carrying a woman in his arms. It stands on a pedestal close to Minnehaha Creek, near the park's waterfall, surrounded by trees and open green space.
Jacob Fjelde created the work for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where a plaster version was displayed. The bronze cast was installed at its current spot in Minnehaha Park in 1912.
The two figures come from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1855 poem, which drew on Ojibwe and Dakota traditions from the region. Many visitors come here specifically to see these literary characters placed within the Minnesota landscape that inspired the poem.
The sculpture is easy to reach via the main paths of Minnehaha Park and sits on the northwest side of Minnehaha Creek. It is well signed and pairs naturally with a walk to the nearby waterfall.
Minnesota schoolchildren collected pennies to help pay for the bronze casting, pooling small contributions from across the state. This made the monument one of the few public artworks of its era funded largely by children.
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