What’s the story behind Crooked Feather, Ocean Spring’s iconic Native American sculpture?

Alongside Highway 90 entering Ocean Springs stands “Crooked Feather,” a towering attraction that catches the eyes of visitors — a sculpture that pays homage to the history of North America’s original inhabitants.

In the early 1970s, Hungarian-American sculptor Peter Wolf Toth developed a personal desire to honor the indigenous communities of North America. Toth meticulously carved a 6-foot-tall statue of a Native American man in La Jolla, California, which inspired him to do the same in other areas. He then returned to his home state, Ohio, where he started carving out a much larger statue.

This set the stage for a massive project that became known as the “Trail of Whispering Giants.” His goal was to create a sculpture in every state, capturing the spirit of the diverse Native cultures across the continent.

For each piece, Toth collaborated with local Native groups, utilizing materials unique to each region and sculpting the figures to resemble the indigenous people of that area. The project resulted in over 70 statues, ranging from 20 to 40 feet tall, scattered across the United States and several Canadian provinces.

Crooked Feather

According to the Ocean Springs Historical Society, Toth eventually chose Ocean Springs as the location for his 17th statue, and the only one in Mississippi. After Toth arrived in the city in November 1975, Lum Cumbest and his brothers donated a massive cypress log for his project. The log was a 2,000-year-old giant, weighing over 10 tons and measuring 8 feet wide at the base.

Toth worked hard over the winter of 1975-76, carving and shaping the shape of a Native man’s face and neck with a feather over his head.

According to Roadtrip America, while crafting one of the sculptures in Arizona, Toth once said, “this is my concept of the Indians of this area. I study the Indians of the area, then visualize an Indian within the log. It is a composite of all the native people of the state.”

The finished product, over 30 feet tall, became known as “Crooked Feather,” honoring the Bylocchy, Pascoboula, and Moctoby tribes that once thrived along the Mississippi Coast. Crooked Feather was presented to the city of Ocean Springs in 1977 during a dedication attended by Governor Cliff Finch.

Crooked Feather, though, became infested with insects and rodents, which led to its slow decay. In 1985, Hurricane Elena caused toppled Crooked Feather and broke the feather off its head. Toth briefly returned in 1987 to repair the feather and reinforce it with fiberglass.

Despite his efforts, the statue suffered further decay in the 1990s. Mistakenly believing Toth had passed away, Ocean Springs commissioned local sculptor Thomas King in 1999 to craft a replica. King faithfully reconstructed Crooked Feather, and his version now stands as a cherished attraction in Ocean Springs in the same spot as the previous one.

While the original statue is gone, King’s recreation of Crooked Feather manages to preserve the spirit of Toth’s vision. Tourists from around the world occasionally set out to view each statue along Toth’s Trail of Whispering Giants, which eventually brings them to Ocean Springs.

Crooked Feather stands next to Highway 90, welcoming motorists traveling east into Ocean Springs from Biloxi.