A new 10-foot bronze monument now stands proudly outside the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department headquarters, serving as a lasting tribute to the men and women who have dedicated their lives to protecting Chickasaw communities.
The larger-than-life sculpture represents a Lighthorseman of the Five Tribes mounted police force in Indian Territory. It depicts an action scene, with the officer riding through heavy terrain in pursuit of a fleeing criminal while holding his coach shotgun.
The monument’s creator, acclaimed artist James Blackburn, said the project took months to sculpt and approximately a year to complete.
“This sculpture is a long time coming,” Blackburn said. “It is the depiction of a moment in time of Oklahoma before statehood.”
“This monument represents Indian Territory from a lawman’s eyes,” Blackburn said. “The territory could be a violent place, and people in the territory needed protection. Chickasaw Lighthorsemen were the stopgap to the violence, and this depicts their very dangerous and hard life.”
The rider is depicted with U.S. military surplus clothing, saddle and rig common to the time period. A small set of crossed arrows is burned into each saddlebag, which Blackburn intends as a subtle connection to Chickasaw pre-Removal symbology representing war path or being at war.
“It is important to remember the old ones and their ways,” Blackburn said.
To add a meaningful personal connection to the monument, Blackburn modeled the face of the mounted officer after Chickasaw citizen Wilson Brown. Brown was a fluent Chickasaw speaker, a World War II veteran and a 2025 Chickasaw Hall of Fame member. His public service includes 20 years in the U.S. Army and 10 years in the Air Force Reserve.
“I thought he (Brown) was a good fit for the likeness of a Chickasaw Lighthorse police officer,” Blackburn said.
The monument was cast in bronze using the traditional "lost wax" method. It is one of the oldest methods of bronzing still used by artists, according to Blackburn. The centuries-old method uses a variety of materials and techniques.
“A small clay model, or maquette, is created first,” Blackburn said. “Once the maquette is complete, it is used as a guide to create the final version of the sculpture, where the artwork is sculpted at life-size, or in this case, a little bit larger-than-life size.”
This step alone can take months to sculpt depending on the size and complexity of the artwork. Once it is complete, a mold is taken of the sculpture.
“This process involved making a silicone and plaster mold of the original artwork and using that mold to create a wax form of the sculpture,” Blackburn said. “The wax form was then used to create a ceramic shell casing that is heated in a kiln. Here, the wax melts away and a void is left where the wax form once was.
“Finally, molten bronze is poured into this casing. Once it cools, the ceramic shell is broken off and the bronze is unveiled.”
After emerging from its ceramic shell, the next step in the sculpture’s journey occurred in late 2025 when the monument and its accompanying lighting and landscaping were installed at Lighthorse headquarters, located at 1130 W. Main St. in Ada. The installation can now be seen by hundreds of passing motorists daily.
This stop will not be the monument’s final home, however. Earlier this year, construction began on a state-of-the-art facility that will serve as a new headquarters for the rapidly growing Chickasaw Lighthorse Police Department.
Chickasaw Lighthorse Chief of Police Dr. Charles Palmer said the new headquarters was designed with the monument in mind and that it will be relocated to the new facility when construction is completed.
“This statue honors the generations of Lighthorsemen who dedicated their lives to protecting our communities, upholding our laws, and preserving the sovereignty and traditions of the Chickasaw Nation,” Palmer said.
“We are proud to place this monument at our department as a lasting tribute to those who came before us and as an inspiration for future generations of Chickasaw Lighthorse officers and citizens alike.”
Other art by Blackburn
Blackburn was commissioned in 2011 to illustrate “The Historic Map of the Unconquered and Unconquerable Chickasaw People.” This award-winning 8-by-12-foot granite and marble map is installed in the Mosaic Room of the Chikasha Poya Exhibit Center on the campus of the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma.
The Chickasaw Nation commissioned Blackburn in 2014 to create a sculpture depicting two Southeastern hunters during the Mississippian Period, A.D. 900-1400. Titled Owwatta (They’re Hunting), the monumental 7-foot sculptures are also installed at the Chickasaw Cultural Center. Learn more about Blackburn and these pieces at
JBlackburnStudios.com.