SPOKANE--The Spokane Tribe is troubled by the City of Spokane's decision to remove and throw away the statue of Chief Garry in Chief Garry Park in North Spokane.

Spokane Tribe

The statue of Chief Garry in Chief Garry Park in North Spokane has been thrown away after it was damaged heavily by vandals.

Karen Mobley with the Spokane Arts Comission told KREM 2 NEWS that the City removed the statue Wednesday because it had been heavily damaged by vandalism and the statue "dissolved away" when city crews tried to move it, so it had to be thrown away.

The statue was 28 years old and made out of concrete, re-bar and old beer cans.

Mobley said the statue would have cost more to repair than replace, with an estimate of a new bronze statue of Chief Garry coming in between $100,000 and $150,000.

Mobley said the City sent a letter to the Spokane Tribe informing them of the decision to tear the statue down. KREM 2 NEWS has requested a copy of that letter.

However, a spokeswoman for the Spokane Tribe said they didn't receive a letter and that the Tribe learned about the decision Thursday. In a statement, the Tribe said they were troubled about the city's decision to throw it away.

The neighborhood council recently decided to replace the statue, but the City said it had no money to replace the statue and would have needed funding from a donor or the community.

Chief Garry was born in 1811 and later became chief of what was called the middle Spokane Tribe.