Six Grandfathers (Mount Rushmore)

   You are probably wondering why I called Mount Rushmore, "Six Grandfathers"? It's because the mountain on which the presidents are carved is sacred land to the Lakota Sioux. The mountain was named by Black Elk, a Lakota medicine man who had a spiritual vision. The vision was of the six sacred directions: west, east, north, south, above, and below. The directions were said to represent kindness and love, full of years and wisdom, like human grandfathers. The carving of the presidents’ faces on the mountain is an insult to many native tribes.  

  You may or may not know that Mount Rushmore and Georgia's Stone Mountain - share a common past: Both are built on land seized illegally from Indigenous peoples, and both were desecrated by the same racist artist: Gutzon Borglum. The state historian of South Dakota, Doane Robinson, saw an opportunity to create a tourist attraction to generate revenue from the tourists already visiting Yellowstone Park.

   I could not bring myself to pay the admission fee to get a closer look at Mt Rushmore, so I stopped on the side of the road to take a picture. There is so much more disheartening information available about how many Native lives were lost and how many Natives experience the effects of these past transgressions today.
 
     The US government has a long history of violating treaties with Indigenous populations. The Black Hills are unique because the Supreme Court actually agreed that the land was taken illegally in United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians. “The Court ruled in 1980 that the US owed the Sioux Nation the 1877 price for the land, along with 100 years of interest. The Sioux rejected the cash settlement because they still want the land back.”  Sure the Government can make up a price for the land, but they did not account for the many lives lost. It was noted that when General Custer surveyed the Black Hills, he reported that his men had discovered gold, and white people came running. At that time, President Grant secretly ordered the army NOT to protect the Native residents. I also read different articles with disturbing information about bounty hunters being paid to kill Natives.

   I spent most of my days there researching and exploring Rapid City.  There is so much history on this area including the “Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.