Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota
August 21, 2015
Five miles north on Hwy 16 N between
Custer City and Hill City lies Crazy Horse Memorial. It is NOT a federal or
state project. When Mt. Rushmore was carved, Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear
in 1939 asked sculptor Korezak Ziolkowski of Polish descent to come to the
Black Hills and carve a mountain “letting white man know red man has great
heroes also.” Ziolkowski accepted the invitation to carve Crazy Horse Mountain
knowing the non-profit project would span several generations. Work began
carving on the mountain in 1946. His family of 10 children and his wife Ruth
have carried on the family legacy after his death in 1982 to see Ziolkowski’s
work continues on sculpturing the world’s largest mountain carving in progress
to honor Native Americans.
A
1/34th scaled white marble model display showed what the finished
sculptured Mountain will look like when it is completed. The mission of the
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation as a non-profit organization establishes the
site with several primary purposes in mind: completion of carving the mountain,
operating the Indian Museum of North America and the Native American Educational
and Cultural Center, and overseeing The Indian University of North America in
the Black Hills.
The display exhibits of Indian artwork, beadwork, regalia, etc
were absolutely amazing.
Buffalo hides will sometimes be used to relay a tribe's history or story through art designs on rawhide .
At the Crazy Horse Memorial Restaurant the two of us grabbed a buffalo burger for lunch. The meat was very lean with virtually no fat and tasted much like hamburger.
At the Crazy Horse Memorial Restaurant the two of us grabbed a buffalo burger for lunch. The meat was very lean with virtually no fat and tasted much like hamburger.
A Lakota
Indian in full beaded regalia spoke outdoors and invited
folks from the audience to come forward to join in a friendship dance known as
The Snake Dance. JR motioned for me to go
forward and join the group. The Indian stepped down and took my hand as if he
were Crazy Horse himself. The two of us led the line weaving in and out like a snake
below the great carving underway on the mountain It was a good thing my dancing feet kept up to the rhythm of the drum beat behind him.