In the spirit of Crazy Horse, work continues

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Since the first dynamite blast on Thunderhead Mountain in June 1948, millions of people have come to watch the progress of what will be the world's largest mountain carving-the Crazy Horse Memorial. It will make the U.S. presidents' faces carved on the side of Mount Rushmore, 17 miles away, look small in comparison.

Oglala Sioux warrior Crazy Horse was born in the Black Hills in the 1840s, and witnessed the destruction of his people's way of life by European expansion to the area. During several battles to defend against this encroachment, Crazy Horse earned a reputation as a ferocious warrior.

While at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, under a flag of truce, he was stabbed in the back by an American soldier and died Sept. 6, 1877, one year after the Battle of Little Big Horn where the Sioux warrior was among the party that confronted the American military, led by General George A. Custer, who died in the hour-long battle.

The Crazy Horse memorial, once complete, will feature a warrior on horseback with his left arm extended and pointing over the lands below. It will depict the answer Crazy Horse gave to a white man who asked, "Where are your lands now?" He replied, "My lands are where my dead lie buried."

Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear invited award-winning sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve Crazy Horse, saying, "We have heroes too."

Rather than provide an exact likeness of the man (a photo of Crazy Horse was never taken) the memorial pays homage to the spirit of the man and his people.

The carving has been in the works since the 1940s, yet is far from complete. Part of the enjoyment in seeing the site is that it is a work in progress.

Ziolkowski began this project at age 40. He died in 1982 at age 74 and his family continues his vision. Because he felt the monument should be non-profit educational, cultural, and humanitarian in nature, he turned down $10 million offered by the federal government to do the work.

Entrance fees to the Crazy Horse Visitors Center and the Native American Cultural Center and Indian Museum keeps the work going.

In 1998, the memorial's 50th anniversary, the nine-storey-high face of the monument was unveiled and dedicated. Special guests included five of the nine remaining survivors of the Battle of Little Big Horn.

The progress of the monument is well documented, and can be tracked in photos on display at the visitors' centre. Ziolkowski decided to sculpt the image in the round rather than just on the mountain face. The head stands 87 feet high. The extended arm is 227 feet long. Currently, the work concentrates on the 22-storey high horse's head.

The Native American Educational and Cultural Center is a wonderful facility attached to the memorial. The beautiful stone building was constructed from rock blasted from the mountain. During the summer, Navajo, Cherokee, Santee, Choctaw/Chickasaw, Tohono/Odham, Seneca, Dine, and Hopi artists create and exhibit their work there. The gift store has a collection of literature about the first peoples of the area. There is also an interactive display for children.

So, if work or pleasure takes you into the Black Hills of South Dakota, let the spirit of Crazy Horse draw you to his monument. You will want at least a half day to see and learn about the mountain, take in the museum, visit working artists and crafters, and be inspired by the motto of the memorial-Never Forget Your Dreams.