Palo Alto Smoke Shop Indian

indian, originally uploaded by cjw333.

The "Indian smoke shop statue" is a familiar and often controversial figure seen outside tobacco shops, particularly in the United States. This one was outside a Smoke Shop on UNiversity Ave. in Palo Alto, CA.

These statues are typically carved from wood and depict a Native American man—often in a feathered headdress or traditional attire—standing tall and holding cigars, pipes, or simply posed as a sentinel. Historically, they served as advertising figures for tobacconists, especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when literacy was less common and shopkeepers relied on visual symbols to represent their trade.

While some view these statues as nostalgic Americana or folk art, others criticize them for perpetuating stereotypes and reducing Indigenous identity to a commercial mascot. Today, they exist in a gray space—part kitsch, part cultural artifact, and part painful reminder of how Indigenous cultures have been misrepresented and commodified. Whether seen as collectibles or as outdated symbols, these statues invite deeper conversations about representation, respect, and the evolution of cultural imagery in public spaces.