Crazy Horse Monument Takes Shape

In the Black Hills of South Dakota there is emerging a sculpture which, when complete, will rival Mt. Rushmore in grandeur. The nonprofit Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation describes its monument as a "tribute to the Native American; the Lakota leader Crazy Horse is being carved on the mountain as a heroic symbol for the nonprofit, educational and cultural Memorial honoring all North American tribes."

Crazy Horse, who lived in the mid-1800s, was a chief of the Oglala Sioux (Lakota) people. He was killed in 1 877 while in police custody- just one year after the battle on the shores of the Little Big Horn River in which Crazy Horse led his forces to victory over General Custer's men.

In 1947 Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to the Black Hills of South Dakota to carve Crazy Horse into a mountain. The chief wrote: "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too." Ziolkowski, a self taught sculptor of Polish descent, designed a model of Crazy Horse and his horse, with plans for a 563-feet high by 641-feet long, in-the-round carving.

Mr. Ziolkowski died in 1982 and his wife, Ruth, and their large family have dedicated themselves to completing his project. Mrs. Ziolkowski explains that although there is no projected completion date, they work with a five-year budget. The project is funded wholly by the admission fee collected from visitors, sales in the museum gift shop, and individual contributions. They accept no federal funding, based on Mr. Ziolkowski's strongly-held philosophy which valued individual enterprise and opposed "government handouts."

The first blast on the mountain was set off on June 3, 1948. Work on the project has been consistent since 1949, and has taken place year round for the last four years. The first step in carving the features is to blast away large areas of granite (one blast can remove 70 tons). Detail work is accomplished with a blowtorch.

Work on the nine-story-high face began in 1988 - since that time much progress has been made. The eyes and eight-foot-long nose are emerging in detail and work on the lips has recently begun. According to the Crazy Horse Monument newsletter Progress, 'The precision explosives engineering took the rock down to within just eight inches of the upper lip." Over the summer, the 15 workers also began to further define the eyelids, eyes and eyebrows.

At this point, there is no formal Native American advisory board. However, Mrs. Ziolkowski says the project has 97 employees, one-third to one-half of whom are Native American. And no Native American is charged admission. A core of people, including several Ziolkowski family members, oversee the day-to-day operations.

According to Mrs. Ziolkowski, over 1,300,000 people visited the monument in the last year. In addition to viewing the work in progress, visitors can peruse the Indian Museum, which contains a wide array of Native American artworks and artifacts. There s a 70-room visitor complex with scale models, audio-visual programs, and displays of tools and equipment.

The foundation's plans also call for the construction of a university and medical training center for North American Indians. The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation currently runs a college scholarship program for Native American students in South Dakota. There are plans to expand this program to Native American students all throughout North America when the Crazy Horse University is completed.

The Crazy Horse Memorial is a nonprofit, educational and cultural project. The 45th anniversary commemorative video "Carving Crazy Horse" is available for $24.95 plus $1.95 postage and handling. To assist the project, join the Crazy Horse Grass Roots Club for $25 a year. Tax-deductible donations may be sent to: Crazy Horse Memorial, Crazy Horse, South Dakota, 57730-0506. For more information cali (605) 673-4681.

Michiganders Present Mixed Reviews

Ypsilanti resident Michelle Williamson visited the Crazy Horse sculpture last August. She said that while "you have to use your imagination" to tell what the finished product will look like, she found it to be even more impressive than Mount Rushmore. "I was mesmerized by [the directors'] ability to continue this endeavor," stated Williamson. She said her visit has provoked her interest in the plight of Native Americans, causing her to read more about it since returning home.

U-M alumnus and Native American Pat LeBeau, who also visited the mountain this summer, came away with a different impression than Williamson. LeBeau, a professor of Language and Literature at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich., feels that the monument is "building a false image of what Native Americans are about."

LeBeau claims that since there is no recorded imaged of Crazy Horse (he would not allow himself to be photographed or sketched) the sculpture is merely the artist's impression. And that representation, states LeBeau, is "the primordial Indian warrior." LeBeau adds that this image "distorts what Indians are about." The Crazy Horse Monument represents the "icon of the false Indian, invented by whites for their own purposes. It perpetuates stereotypes more than educates about contemporary native concerns," continued LeBeau.

While LeBeau concedes that there is no consensus of Native American opinion toward the monument, he says there are many that condemn the project as a "symbol in defiance of contemporary Indian people."

Mrs. Ziolkowski did not return phone calls requesting a response to LeBeau's comments.