Chief Tushkalusa Statue Nears Full Funding, Could Be Standing by Spring
The towering statue of Chief Tushkalusa planned for downtown Tuscaloosa is close to fully funded, and the city expects to put the project out to bid by the end of the year.
Councilman Lee Busby, who has championed the effort, told donors and city leaders gathered at the Harrison Art Gallery Thursday night that organizers set out to raise $2.2 million and are now within a couple hundred thousand dollars of that goal.
"This is not the end, this is not the beginning of the end, but we probably are close to the end of the beginning," Busby said, borrowing from Winston Churchill.
Ten months ago, he said, the project was nowhere near that point, when the Thread first reported plans for the towering statue and plaza in his downtown Tuscaloosa district, including renderings of the statue's first draft, which has since been amended to the life-size model on display Thursday.
The almost-17-foot statue will be set in a small circular plaza ending with a statue of Chief Tushkalusa overlooking the river, which, like the city, is named after the native leader. The elements of his name in Muskogean, Tushka and Lusa, translate to 'Black Warrior,' according to Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Loyd Baker, who has been on a three-year mission to learn more about the native leader and his appearance.
Mayor Walt Maddox said the city has committed $750,000 so far, with another $500,000 in the budget now before the city council. If that passes by the end of the month, the city's total contribution reaches $1.2 million, roughly matching what has come from the state, the county and private donors.
"We're going to get a dollar-for-dollar match, almost, on this," Maddox said. "Those are the great investments for a community. This is not a City of Tuscaloosa project. This is all our project."
Maddox credited Busby with driving the effort and thanked the council, city staff, the Alabama Tourism Department, Visit Tuscaloosa and private donors including Alabama Power. He said Tuscaloosa County has offered in-kind services, and State Senator Gerald Allen has backed the effort since its inception.
"When I look at that statue, I see strength," Maddox said. "There is no better representation than Chief Tushkalusa on our riverfront, projecting the strength and vibrancy of each one of you and the people that all call Tuscaloosa home."
Eric Thompson, who is leading the project for city staff, laid out the schedule. Funding should be in place once the budget passes Oct. 1.
"Our plan is to try to bid this by the end of the year, maybe early in 2027, get started very soon after that and try to finish in spring 2027," Thompson said.
He estimated 90 to 120 days of construction. Beyond the statue itself, the plaza will include landscaping running down the hill parallel to Greensboro Avenue, lighting to accentuate the sculpture, storyboards ringing a central circular area and a rebuilt parking lot.
Sculptor Caleb O'Connor walked the room through the statue's development and the research behind it - his renowned work is already on display all over the city, including bronze sculptures of boxer Deontay Wilder, the Marshall Four, the goddess Minerva and more.
O'Connor said he and Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Loyd Baker held five or six meetings with Choctaw and Chickasaw elders and historians, who weighed in on details down to the bracelets, the gorget, the ear spools and the tattoo.
"We went right to the original source, as close as we can get it, apart from the chronicles of De Soto himself," O'Connor said.
Nearly every element on the figure carries meaning. The copper plate depicts a falcon warrior, a symbol of a warrior in Mississippian culture. His right holds a stone axe carved to resemble those found at mound culture sites, which O'Connor said signified sacred authority rather than war. In the chief's left hand is a calumet, a ceremonial pipe bundled with white feathers, extended in a gesture of peace. The shells, moccasins and freshwater pearls are modeled on regional examples, and a turkey feather cape is being designed based on one displayed at Moundville.
O'Connor described the piece in the room as a life-size working version. He has since three-dimensionally scanned it, had the parts printed at full scale, finalized them in wax and sent them to a foundry, which is casting the figure now. He estimated the figure and cape will be complete in about five months.
He said the earlier version looked too posed for his taste.
"I wanted this to be more in a sense where you can see the implied motion, where he's moving, not posed," O'Connor said. "Not only is he giant, but he's moving."
O'Connor said what drew him to the subject was the chief's sacrifice. Tushkalusa surrendered himself to Hernando de Soto's expedition in an attempt to negotiate, and the battle that followed cost him his life and that of his son, along with thousands of his warriors. It also crippled de Soto's expedition and stopped his advance into the rest of the mound culture - the Spaniards ultimately turned and went south into modern-day Mexico.
Busby said the city is taking over day-to-day management of the project, which Maddox directed staff to lead about six months ago.
For more exclusive coverage of Project Warrior and the plaza honoring the leader for whom the city, county and river are named, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.
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Gallery Credit: (Stephen Dethrage | Tuscaloosa Thread)
