After 40 years, ours is coming down.
www.expressnews.com
Hail to “The Chief” a fond farewell.
The famous American Indian statue at the Red McCombs Superior Hyundai dealership off Loop 410 will leave its roadside perch after more than 40 years of looming large over highway traffic and in San Antonians’ hearts.
The 26-foot-tall titan will be deconstructed and removed July 31.
“It is the end of an era,” said Peter Brodnitz, McCombs Enterprises vice president of marketing. “We’re bummed about it.”
Brodnitz noted that the old dealership building at the site has been torn down for a new facility in its place and that the fiberglass statue does not meet Hyundai’s guidelines for the look and feel of its dealerships.
“This is a piece of history that is really unique,” Brodnitz said, “but is not part of the Hyundai experience.”
The bare-chested behemoth with the feathered headdress and extended right hand has been an Alamo City fixture for at least half a century.
The American Indian statue at Red McCombs Superior Hyundai dates back to the 1960s and has been at its current home at Loop 410 near Callaghan Road since 1977.
In the 1960s, it towered over the Superior Pontiac dealership on Broadway near downtown. Then in 1977, the giant followed the dealership to Loop 410 near Callaghan, where it’s stood the test of time — and the occasional arrows and bullet holes — ever since.
The American Indian statue known as "The Chief" outside the McCombs Superior Hyundai dealership at 4800 NW Loop 410 on Friday, July 21, 2023. The 26-foot-tall statue will be deconstructed and removed on July 31 after standing at the location since 1977.
For a while, the statue went by the name “Chief Straight Arrow” after a 1979 naming contest, but it has pretty much gone by just “The Chief” since 1989, when McCombs bought the Superior Pontiac campus and statue.
The statue also has worn a giant Spurs jersey during the playoffs, and in 1987 it sported a green “Just Say No” T-shirt as part of a local war on drugs campaign.
The larger-than-life figure has seen its share of controversy. In addition to concerns about cultural appropriation, the statue once turned pink in the early 2000s after a sales manager had its skin painted and it faded in the sun.
The statue was restored in 2017 with colors deemed “culturally appropriate for all the tribes that traversed through San Antonio,” according to a 2019 San Antonio Express-News article on the statue.
The famous American Indian statue at Red McCombs Superior Hyundai was made in the 1960s from a mold that started with Paul Bunyan.
Master Refinishers
“We see ourselves as caretakers of this important and well-loved San Antonio icon,” the late billionaire and philanthropist Billy Joe “Red” McCombs said in a statement to the Express-News for the article. “And with guidance from anthropologists and Native American experts, we respectfully refurbished him to reflect Native American culture.”
Ramon Vasquez, executive director of American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions in San Antonio, said in the same article that he had “no bad blood” with the McCombs family or the statue. He just wished the statue represented a specific tribe.
“But if it’s just a generic symbol, then we’ve still got a ways to go,” Vasquez said in 2019.
Brodnitz said McCombs Enterprises has yet to find a new home for the statue. Perhaps it could end up as a teaching tool at a local museum, he said, or maybe Express-News readers could offer suggestions.
McCombs Indian statue coming down after more than 40 years
The famous American Indian statue at the Red McCombs Superior Hyundai dealership off Loop...
Hail to “The Chief” a fond farewell.
The famous American Indian statue at the Red McCombs Superior Hyundai dealership off Loop 410 will leave its roadside perch after more than 40 years of looming large over highway traffic and in San Antonians’ hearts.
The 26-foot-tall titan will be deconstructed and removed July 31.
“It is the end of an era,” said Peter Brodnitz, McCombs Enterprises vice president of marketing. “We’re bummed about it.”
Brodnitz noted that the old dealership building at the site has been torn down for a new facility in its place and that the fiberglass statue does not meet Hyundai’s guidelines for the look and feel of its dealerships.
“This is a piece of history that is really unique,” Brodnitz said, “but is not part of the Hyundai experience.”
The bare-chested behemoth with the feathered headdress and extended right hand has been an Alamo City fixture for at least half a century.
The American Indian statue at Red McCombs Superior Hyundai dates back to the 1960s and has been at its current home at Loop 410 near Callaghan Road since 1977.
In the 1960s, it towered over the Superior Pontiac dealership on Broadway near downtown. Then in 1977, the giant followed the dealership to Loop 410 near Callaghan, where it’s stood the test of time — and the occasional arrows and bullet holes — ever since.
The American Indian statue known as "The Chief" outside the McCombs Superior Hyundai dealership at 4800 NW Loop 410 on Friday, July 21, 2023. The 26-foot-tall statue will be deconstructed and removed on July 31 after standing at the location since 1977.
For a while, the statue went by the name “Chief Straight Arrow” after a 1979 naming contest, but it has pretty much gone by just “The Chief” since 1989, when McCombs bought the Superior Pontiac campus and statue.
The statue also has worn a giant Spurs jersey during the playoffs, and in 1987 it sported a green “Just Say No” T-shirt as part of a local war on drugs campaign.
The larger-than-life figure has seen its share of controversy. In addition to concerns about cultural appropriation, the statue once turned pink in the early 2000s after a sales manager had its skin painted and it faded in the sun.
The statue was restored in 2017 with colors deemed “culturally appropriate for all the tribes that traversed through San Antonio,” according to a 2019 San Antonio Express-News article on the statue.
The famous American Indian statue at Red McCombs Superior Hyundai was made in the 1960s from a mold that started with Paul Bunyan.
Master Refinishers
“We see ourselves as caretakers of this important and well-loved San Antonio icon,” the late billionaire and philanthropist Billy Joe “Red” McCombs said in a statement to the Express-News for the article. “And with guidance from anthropologists and Native American experts, we respectfully refurbished him to reflect Native American culture.”
Ramon Vasquez, executive director of American Indians in Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions in San Antonio, said in the same article that he had “no bad blood” with the McCombs family or the statue. He just wished the statue represented a specific tribe.
“But if it’s just a generic symbol, then we’ve still got a ways to go,” Vasquez said in 2019.
Brodnitz said McCombs Enterprises has yet to find a new home for the statue. Perhaps it could end up as a teaching tool at a local museum, he said, or maybe Express-News readers could offer suggestions.
