Leatherlips
by artist Ralph Helmick
Scioto Park
Leatherlips, Dublin Arts Council’s first Dublin Art in Public Places program project, was created by Boston artist Ralph Helmick. The sculpture, a 12-foot high portrait of the Wyandot warrior and leader, Leatherlips, was installed in Scioto Park in 1990. The head is a composite structure of various sizes of native limestone stacked and mortared. The sculpture is open on the top and has stacked stones extending back along its sides, creating a small enclosure that enables visitors a view of the river, the sunset and the amphitheater.
Local history relates that the Wyandot, Leatherlips, was executed by fellow tribesman at a location very near Scioto Park. In fact, Leatherlips’ last hunting camp is said to have been located 2 miles north of Historic Dublin along the banks of the Scioto River near the location of the present day park. Early histories by the white settlers of the time described him as intelligent, dignified and peaceful.
Scioto Park
Bring the whole family to one of Dublin's favorite parks. Scioto Park is home to the 12ft stone memorial to Leatherlips, a local Wyandot legend, and the annual Sundays at Scioto Concert Series.
Park amenities include:
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River views
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Picnic shelter
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Playground
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Nature trails
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Restrooms
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Amphitheater
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Winter sledding hill
Land Acknowledgment:
Dublin Arts Council acknowledges that it was founded upon exclusions and erasures of many Indigenous peoples, including those on whose land its institution is located. Its programming takes place on the unceded land of the Hopewell, Adena, Miami, Delaware, Shawnee, and Wyandot peoples. Dublin Arts Council asks community members to join the organization in acknowledging and honoring these Native communities, their Elders both past and present and all future generations. This acknowledgement demonstrates a commitment to beginning the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.