Let’s be frank. The young Native American man is playing his love’s favorite song in hopes of tempting her out for a midnight rendezvous. And it appears to have worked!
The “Night Song” sculpture was created by Joe Beeler and with the park was dedicated on December 9, 1998. The statue, sitting on a rock base, is about seven feet tall. Beeler shared that this young man, from the Southern Plains, was playing a flute as a means of courting the woman he loved. The bas-relief on the statue’s base depicts various animals and the happy couple walking together, with her arm wrapped around his shoulders. Beeler was a renowned artist and sculptor who specialized in Western art.
The flute is likely a Native American courting flute, which was often made from aromatic woods, such as sumac or juniper, or from river cane and sunflower stalks. As the young man played a special song, the woman would join him if she accepted his courtship. The flute was sometimes destroyed to signify that the couple’s courtship was complete.
To park, use the bank parking lot on the east side of Riverbend Park. Evergreen trees screen the park from the bank. The park is squeezed into a tiny spot, with traffic whizzing by, but it does provide a small green space with a view of the White River.
Source: www.atlasobscura.com
