KENT- In a striking if belated honor for indigenous leader Daniel Nimham, a magnificent 8-foottall statue, cast in bronze and created by world-renowned sculpture Michael Keropian of Kent was dedicated in the summer of 2022 in Fishkill.
Now, thanks to a committee consisting of members of the Kent Conservation Foundation, the Kent Public Library, Kent Historical Society and Arts on the Lake, $75,000 was raised to commission a statue of Sachem Daniel Nimham in Putnam County.
Daniel Nimham was the Wappingers Sachem who gave his life, along with his Algonquin speaking warriors, in the cause of the American Revolution. Nimham was born in the hamlet of Wiccopee in 1726 and was the final Sachem, or tribal leader, of the Wappinger people.
When the Revolutionary War began, Nimham and other Native Americans joined to fight alongside the Continental Army against the British and at the Battle of Kingsbridge on August 31, 1778, the 52-yearold Nimham, his son and dozens of militia warriors were ambushed and killed by British and Hessian soldiers, giving their lives for American freedom.
The name Daniel Nimham is already well known in Putnam County thanks to the late Gil ‘Crying Hawk’ Tarbox, who founded the Daniel Nimham Pow Wow held every summer at the Veterans Memorial Park prior to COVID. Tarbox succumbed to COVID in 2021, leaving his wife, Penny, and family along with the entire Putnam community to mourn.
During a recent interview, Keropian said he was contacted by the Kent groups requesting that he cast a 4-foot version of the statue.
Keropian recalled how 20 years ago, Jim and Wilma Baker and George Baum visited his studio and requested that he create a statue of Daniel Nimham: “Funding could not be raised back then, and when I received a proposal in Fishkill, that’s where the statue ended up.”
Keropian’s statue contains a combination of visual interests from every angle along with historical accuracy mixed with what the artist said were “symbolism and allegory to help tell Daniel’s story.”
The statue contains a scroll in Nimham’s right hand which honors his advocacy for Native American land rights, while the musket in his left hand marked his courage in battle.
A plaque first installed in 1937 is featured on the statue’s pedestal and, 85 years later, has become part of the landmark statue at Arrowhead.
Keropian said he was thrilled the new statue is calling Putnam home: “Putnam County has been focused on Daniel Nimham for decades – not just because of the mountain that bears his name but due to the late Gil Tarbox and his wife Penny who organized the Pow Wow celebrations for years. If any county deserves something regarded to Nimham, it is Putnam County.”
The statue has been installed at the Kent Town Hall complex off Route 52. Its dedication, originally scheduled for today, has been postponed because of inclement weather and will now take place in September during Kent Town Community Day.
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