Crazy Horse Memorial

​   As I trek within the country, I find myself trying to unravel humanity from the many diverse viewpoints. Although I will never truly grasp why we act as we do, because of my own biases, I can’t help but wonder. My visit to South Dakota caused me to examine its gory past, but also the underlying emotional affect.
 
   Above is the picture I took from the street. Again, I decided not to pay to enter the park for my own reasons (I’m finding out a lot about myself). I actually talked to a few people that said it wasn’t worth the money because you are unable to get close to the monument due to the construction.
 

   Crazy Horse is a monument under construction a few miles from Mt Rushmore. Henry Standing Bear, an Oglala Lakota Chief and founding member of the Society of American Indians, recruited Polish-American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to build the Crazy Horse Memorial. There are a few things about this monument that sparked my curiosity:
 
1) Korczak Ziolkowski, a noted New England sculptor, first came to the Black Hills to help Gutzon Borglum on Mount Rushmore. As you know, Gutzon is known to be a racist.

2) Henry Standing Bear: I contemplate why would a Native agreed or even wanted someone to desecrate sacred land. Also, if it is true the things that I read about Crazy Horse, he would have not approved of this sculpture and more importantly, defacing the land.
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3) The sculpture is on private land not owned by the state or the Lakota. The monument is fully funded by donations without government assistance, and is said to have upwards of a million visitors per year.
 
 I read that Crazy Horse was known to be shy and humble. He was loved by his people for his generosity to the underprivileged, the elderly, and children. He was a skillful leader and warrior and was respected by both his tribe and his enemies. He is best known for his fight against the intrusion of white American settlers to preserve the traditional way of life of his people.  There is an overwhelming amount of books depicting his life, other Natives, and their experiences both before and after the settlers invaded the Black Hills.

 Its amazing how much information is available.