TOPEKA, Kan., Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Blending cultures is tough. Maybe that's why the state of Kansas is having so much trouble trying to mount a statue of a Kansa Indian atop its Capitol dome.
Officials say it will be Thursday at the earliest before another attempt is made to place Ad Astra atop its pedestal.
"We're not going to do something just to do it quick. We'll do it safe," Gregg Lynch, manager of the Capitol restoration project for J.E. Dunn Construction Co. told a Tuesday afternoon briefing.
The statue, which depicts a loin-clothed archer aiming his arrow at the North Star, apparently is living up to the state's motto: "Ad astra per aspera," which translates to "To the stars through difficulties."
The two-ton sculpture was supposed to be placed on its permanent perch Monday but workers were unable to tighten five of the 17 steel bolts needed to secure it 308 feet above the ground. A second attempt had been planned for Tuesday but iron workers were unable to remove the balky bolts.
Before Monday's first attempted hoisting, four American Indians blessed the statue with an eagle feather and incense. They sang to the accompaniment of a drum and smudged the bottom of the statue with ashes as a final prayer.
Originally, Ad Astra was supposed to be ready in 1991.
The Kansa tribe controlled 20 million acres of territory in the Kansas River basin for about 300 years before 1825 and were forcibly removed from the territory in 1873.
The statue took 14 years to produce and cost $1 million. Another $614,000 was spent to reinforce the dome.
Ad Astra is the work of sculptor Richard Bergen, who had it cast at Art Castings of Colorado in Loveland, Colo. He then hauled the statue around the state to give people a chance to see it.
Ad Astra is not the first to be considered for a dome ornament. Back in 1889, before the Capitol was finished, consideration was given to a statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. Instead, a 750-watt light bulb later was mounted.
Bergen, 77, sold bricks, T-shirts, posters, coffee cups and hats to raise money to help finance the project, which is still about $100,000 short. The Kaw Nation contributed $4,250 toward the cost.
