Crazy Horse Monument

Begun in 1948, the Crazy Horse monument is a testament to a promise kept and perseverance.  Chief Henry Standing Bear asked Korczak Ziolkowski, a Polish-American sculpter, to build for them a monument honoring one of their people.  Korczak thought the Tetons would be better carving material, but Standing Bear insisted on the Black Hills since it was sacred territory to their people.  

It is a privately funded national monument and when finished it will stand 563 feet high and 641 feet long.

Korczak married and had 10 children.  His wife died only last year and several of his children are still involved in the project to see what their father begun, on his own, until completion.  Korczak died 34 years after starting.

I was really moved by the keeping of a promise that would have been so easy to give up on, and I was inspired by the family involvement to ensure it was finished and done so properly.

The area will also house the first American Indian University and Medical Center.

We really enjoyed this stop in SD and I would recommend it for anyone who is out that way.

We watched a movie at the beginning of the tour and one of my favorite quotes from his wife was, "When you are responsible for other people lives then you need to have the wherewithal to look ahead to their next year and the year after that."

Sweat Lodge

Portrait of Korczak and Standing Bear

Korczak's sculpture of the completed project.

The compresser Korczak used on the mountain.