Crazy Horse Monument
Crazy Horse Memorial is a work still in progress and when finished will be the world's largest sculpture. Just 17 miles southwest of Mount Rushmore, the monument of Crazy Horse sits along US 16/385 in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The memorial is home to not only the statue itself, but the Indian Museum of North America, the Native American Cultural Center, the sculptor's studio, and a large Orientation Center where many Native American arts and crafts are on display by the artists themselves. more info
Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski accepted the invitation by Native Americans to design and build the memorial in 1947 and began the project in 1948. Korczak designed an image of Crazy Horse sitting atop his horse, pointing his left hand out over his land. He is said to be responding to the white man's question "Where are your lands now?" by saying "My lands are where my dead lie buried." Korczak wanted the memorial to be a humanitarian project and to be an educational center for Native American history. The sculptor died in 1982, but his wife, Ruth, and family continue to manage the project in sync with his original plans.
The monument has been carved by the use of precision explosives. Long parallel holes are drilled, using machine or hand drills, on all sides of the desired rock piece. This creates the effect on the rock as perforated edges make on paper. Electronic detonating cord is then fed through these holes and fired to create a clean break. The sculptors use a jet finishing torch to smooth out the surface. Currently the horses head is being blocked out to within 20 feet of the final surface.
Crazy Horse Memorial offers free admittance to all Native Americans, active military personnel, Boy and Girl Scouts in uniform, and Custer County residents. In the summer months the monument is open from 7am to 9pm, after the nightly lighting ceremony. In the winter, visit the memorial between the hours 8am to 4:30pm. Every Thursday enjoy a free program in the Native American Educational and Cultural Center at 6pm. There is an interactive children's exhibit on site and a museum with art from Navajo, Cherokee, Santee, Choctaw, Tohono O'Odham, Seneca, Dine, Hopi artists.
Visit Crazy Horse Memorial any time of year and enjoy not only a magical view of the monument's progress but also an educational and cultural tour of the museum and on-sight facilities.
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The Crazy Horse Memorial
The Crazy Horse Memorial is a work in progress. Its museum and memorial are open to the public in Custer.
