Mary Williams and her husband moved to the area when she was in her 50s. It was then she began her career as a sculptor. The Ojibwe peoples that summered in this area in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries are now the Anishinaabe.

I was so pleased when the Otter Tail County Historical Society called and asked if I would create a sculpture depicting an Ojibwe woman for its 75th anniversary in 2002. I created three models, and they chose the woman you see here.

Native Woman is holding a birchbark basket of gathered food. It demonstrates that the Ojibwe were hunters and gatherers who were nurtured by the earth. It also depicts the quiet strength and authority women held in Native culture.

The sculpture is of Indiana limestone, which I had shipped from Indiana to Everts Lumber in Battle Lake. They were kind enough to let me sculpt there during the six weeks it took me to complete the piece. Native Woman was dedicated in a beautiful ceremony at this location on July 31, 2002.
The Native Woman sculpture sits beside Battle Lake’s community dock and landing where anglers can cast a line or boaters park to lunch at the Shoreline or walk into town.

The West Battle Lake Lakeshore Association planned and executed the community dock and landing project. Local people and organizations –listed on the marker among the plants—donated the money to build it.

Adjacent to the path are native plants that help keep pollutants out of the lake and stabilize the shoreline. At least a dozen volunteers showed up on a cold, rainy Saturday in April 2007 to plant 100s of tiny native plants under the leadership of a U of MN Extension water-resource educator. Today, these pollinators attract bees and butterflies. Volunteers have maintained the plantings ever since. They tend this patch and the landscape across the street at Halverson Park.

While you’re here, take a look across Lake Avenue at Halverson Park. In addition to the restroom, trail map, and patio with seating, the Otter Trail Scenic By-way signage tells the story of Wenonga, one of the few surviving Ojibwe from the battle on West Battle Lake.