The Chief Kno-Tah Indian statue at Shute Park was dedicated September 25, 1987. The name, Kno-Tah, was taken from the name of the chief of the Tualatin tribe of Indians. He was the chief who agreed to the "land cessions" treaty granting the White Man control of the Tualatin Plains. Loretta J. Brokesholder Schwarz of Cornelius, a member of the Shawnee Tribe and Choctaw Nation, submitted the name. A panel of students at the Chemawa Indian School in Salem chose it from many names offered.

The tree used for the carving is a 25' Douglas Fir weighing approximately 33,000 pounds. The age of the tree is estimated to be over 400 years. Transportation and raising of the log on its concrete base was provided entirely by volunteer labor. All supplies and materials were donated by local businessmen and individuals. The artist, Peter Toth, donated his talent and time. Click here for more photos and newspaper articles.

The Chief Kno-Tah statue is listed on the Hillsboro Arts & Culture Council's inventory of public art along with other art in Hillsboro. Click here for more information.

Artist Information

Artist Peter "Wolf" Toth has traveled throughout the United States fulfilling a personal mission: to carve monuments memorializing American Indians in every state.

Peter was born in Hungary in 1947. His family fled Hungary during the 1956 uprising and settled in Akron, Ohio where Peter continued his education in the Akron Public schools. Peter's early personal experience with injustice in Hungary fostered in him a deep sense of kinship with, and empathy for Native Americans, whom he feels were the victims of abuse and injustice.

Toth believes the United States is the greatest country in the world. His love for America and John F. Kennedy's quotation, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," was the catalyst for his crusade to honor the Indian.

Each statue is different as the spirit of the Indian is intertwined with the spirit of the tree. It is his hope that through these monuments, people will remember that the Indians were, and are, a proud race of people who inhabited America long before the arrival of Europeans. His sculptures proved a means for preserving the memory that has too often been clouded, destroyed or distorted. "They were the kings of this land, they were the owners," says Peter. He believes past stories of the Indians have unfairly represented them to be savages. It is his hope that the "whispering" of these giants will soften our hearts to form a society of true brotherhood.