Celebrate An Indigenous Hero At Crazy Horse Memorial

What is it?

Crazy Horse Memorial is a carved mountain monument of the Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse. It is still a work in progress but is currently the largest in-progress mountain carving in the world. Completed, it will be 563 ft tall, and 641 ft wide, falling short of being the largest in the world. (The current largest completed stone carving is the Statue of the God of Longevity in China, at 715 ft tall, topping Crazy Horse by 150 ft)

As large as it is, it is not just the carving’s size that makes Crazy Horse so special. Rather, it is the legacy of the man represented, and the potential for the monument to educate its visitors about the Indigenous peoples for whom the Black Hills are home.

Where is it?

Crazy Horse, the Person

Before I begin, I feel deeply unqualified to give a complete picture of who Crazy Horse was as a person, a warrior, and a leader, so I’ll encourage you to check out the stories told by those who know more than I do. One such source that I particularly liked is the book In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse by Joseph Marshall III. We read it with our kids in and around our time visiting the Crazy Horse Memorial, and all of us really enjoyed it!

Most of what we know about Crazy Horse has been passed down through an oral tradition of stories, and the details don’t always agree. We don’t have exact dates or locations, but we do have enough to paint a picture of an Oglala Lakota warrior who cared deeply for his people and led them bravely in battle.

He was a man who lived in troubled times when the conflicts between white settlers and native peoples were at their fiercest. As a Lakota war leader, Crazy Horse helped lead his warriors through many of the toughest battles of that era. Eventually, he fought the US Army to a standstill and defeated General Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn.

This decisive victory led to the surrender of US forces, and a peace treaty on the terms of the Lakota warbands. Sadly, this treaty was only respected until gold was discovered in the Black Hills, at which point the US reneged on the agreement. The United States Supreme Court said of this land theft, “a more ripe and rank case of dishonorable dealings will never, in all probability, be found in our history.” I’m inclined to agree.

As for Crazy Horse himself, he eventually laid down his weapons in an attempt to bring lasting peace for his people. Not long after, he was killed while resisting his wrongful arrest.

Crazy Horse, the Monument

The history of the Crazy Horse Memorial is long and somewhat confusing. The idea for the monument itself came from an Oglala Lakota Chief, named Henry Standing Bear, who had the idea to carve Crazy Horse’s image at Mt. Rushmore next to Washington and Lincoln. When his idea was ignored by Rushmore’s sculptor, Standing Bear recruited a Polish sculptor named Korczak Ziolkowski to carve a competing monument, instead. The idea was to show the white men that Native Americans have their own heroes who are every bit as worthy of honor as the presidents carved onto Mt. Rushmore.

That was in the year 1939. The project remains unfinished, with little more than the head and face carved to completion. Carvers working on the project blame both the weather and the mountain’s high iron content for the slowness of the progress, but the years that it has taken to complete have drawn some criticism for the project. And that’s not the only reason.

Crazy Horse himself was a very private man, not allowing others to draw or photograph him. He intentionally asked to be buried where no one could find his grave. Some members of the Lakota tribe feel that carving his face into the mountain does more to disrespect his wishes than it does to honor him.

The fact of the matter is that it is a very complex situation. There are many competing sides, both within the Lakota people group and outside it. That makes it a problem that is unlikely to be resolved any time soon.

Why Should I Visit?

Whether the monument is something that Crazy Horse would have wanted for himself or not, the area around the mountain has become a place where visitors can learn a ton about the culture of the Oglala Lakota people. Apart from the carving itself, there are a number of fascinating activities that you can take part in, hopefully giving you a fuller picture of who the Lakota were in the time of Crazy Horse and who they are today.

Cultural Performances

We personally started by watching a traditional hoop dance demonstration put on by Starr Chief Eagle, who is a local Lakota woman who has been practicing hoop dancing since she was a girl. She began by teaching the crowd some Lakota words and inviting kids onto the stage to learn some basic dance moves.

After that, we were entranced, as Starr and another Lakota woman performed a set of incredibly skillful hoop dances. Each dance represented important parts of their own personal stories told through intricate movements and a truly dazzling number of hoops. It was amazing.

Even on days when the hoop dancing doesn’t happen, the Crazy Horse memorial invites other Native American performers to the stage for a variety of other cultural experiences, including art, music, and more.

Native American Artists

Crazy Horse Memorial also has a studio set apart for the use of local Native American artists, where they can display and sell their own works. This gives local artists the opportunity to showcase their art in front of the hundreds of tourists that filter through Crazy Horse Memorial on a regular basis.

Alongside the modern Native American art, there are displays demonstrating a number of different parts of Lakota life from the time when Crazy Horse was alive. My kids loved getting to try out a stone grinder used for grinding food and getting to beat an animal skin drum! There were also toys and games to look at that would have been similar to what kids played with during that time period. Really neat stuff!

Sculptor’s Museum

On a slightly different note, you can also see the home and studio of Crazy Horse’s original sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski. He lived and worked in a house there on-site, and while he was unable to complete his work before his death, members of his family are still working at Crazy Horse today.

The story of Crazy Horse is a story with many sides and complexities, made more difficult to understand through the distorting lens of time. However, what is certain is that as a Lakota tribe member, his personal story is inextricably tied up in the story of this land.
What I love about Crazy Horse Memorial is that it was designed and started with the hope of helping others to remember the history of the people who called America home long before white settlers arrived. The indigenous peoples of America have a ton of varied cultures and stories, and Crazy Horse Memorial is an attempt to bring at least some of those stories to light. It is an attempt to educate the masses on a large part of our own history, and shed light on the injustices done to a people group who even today are among some of the most disadvantaged people in America.

It’s a story well-worth reflecting on and learning from, in hopes that we can do better in the future.

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