Crazy Horse     07/23/21

Southern Hills RV Park, Hermosa, South Dakota

. . . After Isaac finished blessing him and Jacob had scarcely left his father’s presence, his brother Esau came in from hunting.  He too prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father.  Then he said to him, “My father, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”  His father Isaac asked him, “Who are you?”  “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.”  Isaac trembled violently and said, “Who was it, then, that hunted game and brought it to me?  I ate it just before you came and I blessed him – and indeed he will be blessed!” ~ Genesis 27:30-33        The word ‘tremble’ in this case, means ‘in terror’.  Can you imagine what Isaac was thinking?  He didn’t know who had deceived him.  It could’ve been his lowest servant for all he knew.  Although he thought he recognized Jacob’s voice, he couldn’t be sure who it was he’d given his inheritance (not to mention handing down God’s covenant promise) to.  It’s no wonder he was quaking in his proverbial boots!  And remember, once the words were spoken, they couldn’t be revoked.  Did Rebekah and Jacob even pause to consider what their deception might do to Isaac?  To Esau?  Do we stop to consider how our actions or words might affect others?  Or do we selfishly continue on to achieve what we want?  Do we show love?  Or do we show indifference?  God would have us love.  Always love.  Our pastor once gave us a definition of love:  “A commitment to actions seeking the well-being of another characterized by a willingness to forfeit one’s rights or privileges for the sake of another.”  It’s more difficult to do than it sounds.

We chose to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial today.  It was sunny, and supposed to remain that way all day, but as you’ll discover, it didn’t.  But we had sun and fun for as much time as we needed.  😊  It’s fortunate that we opted to do all the outdoor extracurricular activities as soon as we arrived.

They have a bus that takes you to the base of the mountain – as close as you’re allowed.  That’s $4/person, in addition to the entrance fee of $30 for two people in a car.  I heard somewhere that Native Americans are admitted free, but I can’t be certain.  The bus driver shared some facts about the mountain and those who are dedicated to it.  One thing of current note, is how the weather hinders the work.  Although they work year-round, when there’s nasty weather about, the National Weather Service gives them a call.  All work stops and the men leave the mountain until the NWS gives them the ‘all clear’.  Yesterday, they lost six hours due to lightening in the area.  Last week, they worked 20 out of 40 hours.  That’s a good amount of down time!  One of the reasons it’s taking so long.  (73 years as of today!)  Besides the harsh weather, there’s also a good amount of iron content in the rock, making it more difficult to carve.

We had read about a talk/walk with Darrell Red Cloud, a culture bearer, artist, performer, and Oglala Lakota College Faculty Member.  This was free, but you had to sign up on a first-come-first-served basis, so that’s what we did first. The sign up.  We had time before the walk to take the bus tour, so we did that next.  It was informative, and only about 30 minutes long.  He drove really slow.  😊

There were a few minutes to spare, so we looked around the museum some, listening for the announcement that would signal they were ready to begin – – which never came as we were told. 

Fortunately, Blaine happened to look over to the sign up table and noticed that everyone – including Mr. Red Cloud – was gone.  We hurried over and found them outside, already walking across the parking lot.  But at least we caught up to them.

He and another College Faculty member (who didn’t appear to be Indian), spoke on things like how the Indians connected with the land and the buffalo, how they used many of the plants for things like herbs and medicines, and a few stories about Darrell’s ancestors and Crazy Horse himself. Very interesting and well-told!

At the end of our walk, he brought us to a pile of wood and canvas, where he asked for three volunteers to help construct a Tee EEK jay ay.  I was unable to find the actual Lakota word, so you get it phonetically.  Any hoo, Darrell told us that these things we call ‘tee pees’ are not what they call them.  Just in case you want to be proper.  Say it with me again tee EEK jay ay.  And just for fun, you can do it a few more times, as he had us do.  😊

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This is the point in today’s post where I give you some information.

First question – who was Crazy Horse? 

There are no pictures of what he looked like, so the image on the mountain was drawn by Korczak based on what other Native Americans remembered.  The tribal council decided who’s image they wanted on the mountain, and they chose him because he was a great and patriotic leader who led a selfless battle against US military, including General William Tecumseh Sherman!  I had no idea until today that he had anything to do with Western history.  It turns out, he’s the one who said the best way to rid the West of Indians, is to kill all the buffalo, because he knew the buffalo’s importance to the Native American tribes.  Crazy Horse is best known for leading over 1,000 warriors into the battle against Custer in the Battle of Little Bighorn aka Custer’s Last Stand.  Our guide shared a long and more detailed account of Crazy Horse’s life, but I’m not taking the time to share it.  If you’re interested, you can find his interesting information online.  https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/crazy-horse

Second question – who was the artist? 

The sculptor’s name is Korczak Ziolkowski.  He was born and raised in Boston.  He spent a short amount of time working with Gutzon Borglum on Mt Rushmore.  In 1939, Korczak received first prize at the New York World’s Fair for a sculpture he made.  Later that year, a letter arrived from Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear requesting a monument be built to honor Native Americans, because while there are numerous monuments to honor white men, there were none to honor Native Americans.  In 1940, he met with Chief Standing Bear, and created a clay sculpture – the vision they’re carving the mountain into.  In 1943, he volunteered for the war, but when he returned, he had decided to create the Memorial, turning down government offers to create war memorials in Europe.  In 1946, he and Standing Bear found the right mountain, and in 1947, Korczak and his future wife, Rose (who came with others to volunteer) moved to South Dakota.  He used his own money to purchase privately-owned land near the mountain, and lived in a tent until he could build his log cabin.  On June 3, 1948, the Memorial is dedicated.  Five of the nine Native American Indian survivors of the Battle of Little Big Horn are in attendance, and Korczak promises Crazy Horse will be a nonprofit educational and cultural humanitarian project financed by the interested public and not with government tax money.  He also pledges never to take a salary at Crazy Horse.  The first blast that day, he took 10 tons of rock off the mountain.  (FYI – since it’s a nonprofit foundation, any contributions are tax-deductible)  On Thanksgiving Day in 1950, Korczak and his volunteer, Rose were married.  In 1951, using 176 gallons of white paint, he paints the outline of the memorial on the mountain.  On October 20, 1982, Korczak died unexpectedly from acute pancreatitis.  Ruth and their children took over, until her death in 2014.  Now it’s in the hands of the children.

Third question – why’d he do it?  The letter he received from Henry Standing Bear touched his heart, and cried out to his artistic skills, as well as to his sense of showing some concern for the Native Americans who lived here first.  The purpose of the Crazy Horse Memorial is to honor the culture and traditions of living Native Americans; its creation was the dream of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear, who dedicated the memorial in June, 1948. Ziolkowski began work on the Crazy Horse Memorial by blasting and sculpting stone from the side of Thunderhead Mountain in South Dakota’s Black Hills. He worked on the memorial until the time of his death in 1982, and his foundation continues to work on the memorial today.

Korczak must’ve been truly committed to the project because he had to walk up 741 steps every day, carrying everything he needed for the day.  He had an air compressor at the bottom that wasn’t particularly reliable, and whenever it would stop running, he had to go back down, start it up, and return to the top.  One day he had to do that nine times!  To support his very large family (remember, he didn’t take a salary), they ran a dairy and sawmill.  Large?  He and Rose had 10 kids!  Seven of them still work in various capacities within the foundation.

After we returned from our walk, we continued through the extensive museum until it was time for lunch.  The museum here is dedicated to all Native American tribes, not just the Lakota.  We even saw a few pieces from the Innuits in Alaska.

Lunch was in their restaurant.  Our original plan was to buy one thing and share it.  Problem was, we couldn’t decide on what to share, so we each got our own thing, and then shared – Indian Fry Bread Taco, and Buffalo Stew with Indian Fry Bread.  Both were delicious!  And filling.  😊

Just about the time we finished lunch, the hard rain came.  Along with wind, and lightening.  No work on the mountain this afternoon . . .

But we were able to finish up inside at the museum.

Light rain continued the rest of the afternoon.

We’ll have to see what we decide to do for the weekend. It’s supposed to get really hot.