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The State of North Dakota donated a bronze statue of Sakakawea (1788-1824), a Shoshone woman who aided the Lewis and Clark expedition, to the National Statuary Hall Collection during an unveiling ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on October 16, 2003. The statue depicts Sakakawea gazing into the distance and carrying her infant son on her back. The statue is a replica of one that stands on the grounds of the North Dakota state capitol in Bismarck. The original statue, unveiled in 1910, was sculpted by Leonard Crunelle; the replica was created by Arizona Bronze Fine Arts Ateleier of Tempe, Arizona. This firm was selected by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, which coordinated the replica project in partnership with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of North Dakota. The firm's owner, Tom Bollinger, is a Bismarck native. Similar in weight and height to the original bronze statue, the bronze replica weighs 875 pounds and stands nearly 11 feet tall on its 4,600-pound granite base.
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