The Dream
"Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski and the Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear started the Memorial in 1948 to honor the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians." (www.crazyhorse.org)The News
"Crazy Horse Memorial turns 60 with no end in sight"Associated Press (June 2, 2008)
"Sixty years after the first blast signaled work had begun on the world's largest mountain carving, the project is far from finished.
"The carved face of Crazy Horse has been completed and a welcome center and museum are open, but the carving of the Lakota warrior's body, his horse, and a planned university and medical training center for American Indian students are still years away.
"Ruth Ziolkowski, widow of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who started the memorial on June 3, 1948, won't predict when it will be done.
" 'To picture it 60 years from now, I'd like to think we had the first building, at least, for the university so that we'd actually have some students here,' she said...."
The Reality
Not that it couldn't do better, with more support. Still, the sculpture is more complete, and the facilities more extensive, than I remember them from the day, decades ago, when I first saw the place.
Crazy Horse, the Man: "My Lands are Where My Dead Lie Buried"
Crazy Horse gets identified as Lakota and Oglala. "Crazy Horse" is, as far as I can tell, a translation of his name, Tashunkewitko, into English. That's appropriate, since the Sioux and other people of the Americas retained the custom of using names that meant something in the current language (names like "Victor" and "Daisy" are among the few European names which still do).I get the impression that not many people know about Crazy Horse. There's a pretty good biography at Indians.org: "Crazy Horse/Tashunkewitko, Oglala"
The Crazy Horse Memorial website has a FAQ: "Why was Crazy Horse chosen?" gives a (very) short look at his life.
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