Crazy Horse: A moving monument

Crazy Horse: A moving monument
L
akota elders saw Mount
Rushmore
develop
and invited noted New
England sculptor Korczak
Ziolkowski to create a monument
in South Dakota’s Black Hills to
proclaim “the red man has great
heroes also.”
Some 60 years later, Olympic
champion Billy Mills, an Oglala
Lakota working to help youth,
praised the elders and their Crazy
Horse Memorial.
“Korczak called the Memorial
a living symbol, and that’s exactly what it is. It does not make
any difference that we have no
picture of Crazy Horse, because
that proud face on the mountain carving is about dreams. That
face is empowering. Do not look
for facial likeness. Look into that
face for the challenges; look for
the dream — the dream of the
people, the children, the future.
That’s what’s embodied in the
Memorial,” Mills said.
In 2011, NBC Today and Rand
McNally-USA Today travel correspondents tabbed Crazy Horse
among the country’s most patriotic spots to visit.
The reporters noted that the
Memorial is near the geographic
center of the U.S., the heart of an
area considered sacred by many
tribes. Additionally important to
the media crews is Crazy Horse’s
mission to honor Native American
people and tell of their role in the
country’s history.
For similar reasons,
- - - - - WHERE IS IT? - - - - 43 miles east of Newcastle, WY,
the Highway 16-85 hub for the
newly designated Wyoming Black
Hills Scenic Byway. Look for Crazy
Horse on U.S. 16/385, officially the
“Crazy Horse Memorial Highway”
between Hill City and Custer, and
just 17 miles from Mount Rushmore
National Memorial. GPS coordinates:
N43.49.705, W103.39.915
the Internet-linked “Trekaroo”
group of collaborating travelsavvy parents recently voted
Crazy Horse as No. 3 among
the top 10 family attractions in
South Dakota.
Beyond the mountain carving, visitors say they experience
moving moments throughout the
sprawling visitor complex.
Their educational encounters
begin with the newly updated
“Dynamite & Dreams” movie
explaining the sculpture and
the nonprofit Crazy Horse
Memorial story.
Afterward, student guides from
the Indian University of North
America at Crazy Horse lead
guests on a mission of discovery. The highlights include new
exhibits of historic and contemporary items that are expanding
the Memorial’s effort to honor the
past and present cultures of the
North American Indian people.
Expanding displays demand
more room. Visitors will see the
new Mountain Museum addi-
tion open in late June. The
new section will connect Korczak’s
original log home-studio with the
Native American Educational &
Cultural Center.
During the center’s summer
market, tribal artisans from across
the country make and sell crafts
and art that reflect their heritage.
Additionally, there are daily
summer Native American dance
and song performances, free
Thursday evening programs, and
the nightly showing of “Legends
in Light,” a dazzling multimedia
laser-light program projected on
the mountain.
Visitor admissions fund the
Crazy Horse mountain carving and
educational programs. Entrance is
free to military personnel with
active-duty identification, Native
Americans, and Boy Scout and
Girl Scout troops in uniform.
For more information, call Crazy
Horse Memorial at (605) 673-4681,
e-mail [email protected]
or visit www.crazyhorsememorial.
org.
- - - - - AT A GLANCE - - - - What is it? The world’s largest
mountain carving in progress, 641
feet long (195 meters) and 563 feet
(172 meters) high.
Who is doing it? The Crazy Horse
Memorial Foundation, a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit organization.
Why is it being carved? To honor
the heritage, cultures and spirit of
the North American Indian people.
How is it financed? Visitor
admissions and contributions.
Government money is not used.
When is it open? Every day of the
year. Summer hours are 7 a.m. to
dark, when the “Legends in Light”
laser-light show begins.
Hike up Crazy Horse!
The first full weekend in June is the annual Crazy Horse Volksmarch,
sponsored by the Black Hills Chapter of the American Volkssport
Association and hosted by Crazy Horse Memorial.
The 10K (6.2-mile) round-trip hike is the most popular event of its kind
in the nation, drawing up to 15,000 participants, and the only time each
year the public can walk to the mountain carving.
Admission is free to the Memorial for Volksmarchers with a
suggested two cans of food for each hiker for the KOTA Care and Share
Food Drive. The AVA charges $3 per person (for all ages) for the hike.
The hike’s turn-around point is on the outstretched arm directly in
front of the carved face of Crazy Horse. Hikers get an up-close view
of the mountain work that is blocking out the 22-story-high horse's
head.
Call 605-673-4681 for more information, or visit Crazy Horse Memorial
online at www.crazyhorsememorial.org.
Sweet 16 Travel Guide, 2012 k 9