Walk in the Footstep of Crazy Horse-Crazy Horse Memorial
Crazy Horse Memorial is an incredible testament to two men’s dream, Chief Henry Standing Bear and Korczak Ziolkowski. The memorial is being has been a slow build with just the money brought in by donations and other small funding. Korczak had been offered large donations during his lifetime but he never excepted them.
The Memorial is being build on a daily basis with a bus tour to the lower areas plus twice a year they have a hike up to the top. The grounds also include Visitor Complex with a great movie all about how the project started and where it is going. The Visitor Complex is also holds the Indian Museum of North America, the Original Sculptor, the log home that Korczak build, his workshop, a snack shop, and Laughing Water Restaurant.
But the item that I liked most is that the rocks from the mountain are available to take home. It is like taking a piece of history home with you. I of course, took two so that I could give one to my daughter that likes rocks. I now own none as both my daughters took them to add to their collections.
The best thing about this museum is it helps support the Indian University of North America and many of the staff are descendants of Korczak and are Native American.
I was their during Native Americans’ Day. But if you are able to check out the different special events that they hold through the year including Legends in Light laser show, night blasting, talking circle speakers, and more. The project is ran all on donations and entrance fees. For more information, check out their website.
The memorial is close to Custer State Park, Mt. Rushmore, Black Hills National Forest, and so much more. It is also about an hour and a half from Badlands National Park. But remember to come back to Crazy Horse as it changes every year!
Brief History
The Crazy Horse Memorial is a dream put into place by Chief Henry Standing Bear who was a descendant of Crazy Horse and one of the first Native Americans to attend Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. The project of carving Crazy Horse started with Chief Henry Standing Bear wanting to have a Native American sculptor as large as Mt. Rushmore.
His dream would start slowly and he would search for the perfect place and sculptor for the project. On November 7, 1939, he would send a letter to Korczak Ziolkowski, an award winning sculptor who helped on Mt. Rushmore for a brief time. In May 1940, Korczak visited the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota to meet Standing Bear and makes a clay model of Crazy Horse.
Korczak left to do other projects and WWII but at the war’s end, he accept the invitation of the American Native elders to start the project. He uses his own money to buy some land near Thunderhead Mountain. He arrives at the age of 38 and lives in a tent while building his studio.
The first blast of the mountain was on June 3, 1948. He will work alone and walk up and down the mountain to start the sculptor. Two years later, Ruth Ross marries him. The two of them and their 10 children work on the mountain through the years.
Ruth will become the postmistress of the Crazy Horse U.S. Post Office during the late 1960’s. Korczak will built his tomb into the mountain during the early 1970’s. On October 20, 1982, Korczak dies and his wife takes over until her death in May 2014. Their children and the Native American take over the dream to complete Crazy Horse.
Books to Read
When I was there, I picked up to books that I think are going to be great.
The Journey of Crazy Horse by Joseph M. Marshall III is used in colleges to teach people about Crazy Horse and the Lakota history.
He also wrote, The Lakota Way which is all about stories and lessons for living. The book states that it is the Native American Wisdom on ethics and character. I love learn new stories about people from the past. I am looking forward to reading this as well.
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