image from atlasobscura.com
Desecration
“”The triumphs of a scholar defies the desecration
of time, and the judgement of history.”
--Santiago Ramon Cajal.
17 miles south of Mt. Rushmore, in the Black Hills,
Custer County, South Dakota, Mt. Thunderhead
rises above the Sioux reservation. There is an
ongoing sculpting project memorializing the
Oglala Dakota warrior Chief Crazy Horse. His
exploits made him the Native American Lincoln;
including his prowess at the Battle of the Little
Big Horn.
In 1935, there was a movement to add his head
to the four Presidents on Rushmore. The federal
government would not support or fund such a
proposal. So the proud Sioux started their own
privately funded project to honor Crazy Horse.
They hired a Polish sculptor and started work in 1948.
In 2001, right after 9/11, they finished carving the
face. It is 87’ tall. On Rushmore, those faces are 60’
high. After the original sculptor died in the 80’s, his
family took over the project. But after 60 years, the
monument is still an ongoing project, an unfinished
dream. If it’s ever completed, it will be a colossal
ninth wonder of the world. I visited it a decade ago,
and very little has been done on it. It remains a
testament to private achievement, but without the
Feds big bucks, it may never be completed.
Many traditional tribal elders do not like the
monument. They feel that carving on that wild
mountain is a pollution of the landscape. It would
be like carving a 100’ face of Jesus on a
mountain in the Holy Land; more desecration than
memorial.
The Lakota Sioux stopped
Custer, but cannot stop those
sculpting Crazy Horse.
Glenn Buttkus
Haibun
Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub
9 comments:
A fascinating story, Glenn! You tell it with such mastery. I hope I live to see the sculpture completed! :)
Had no knowledge of this Glenn. Absolutely fascinating! Thank you for sharing this wonderful story dude! Hope you have a great Memorial Day in you “outback”... :-)
An interesting story! We were there in 1989 when they were just beginning to work on the monument. A really massive undertaking!
You never cease to surprise me, Glenn, with quotations, events and other things I have not heard of. Having never been to a Sioux reservation, I can only imagine what life would be like, although I did see a documentary many years ago. I like the idea of a memorial to Crazy Horse, even if it is taking so long, and I’m disgusted that the federal government is unsupportive. But I also see the tribal elders’ point of view.
Doesn't surprise me the Sioux got no financial help. Your compatriots don't seem to have heard that it exists either. More power to them. It can't be any uglier than those great faces on Mount Rushmore.
It seems as if the ways of carving mountains into human likenesses is more of a European practice than that of the tribes in that part of the country, including the tribe of Crazy Horse. At the same time Mount Rushmore is what future generations will see and it's already tragic enough how much of Native American culture is fading away. I see where carving up sacred mountains is desecration. I appreciate learning more about it, Glenn.
What a wonderful story... I wonder if it ever will be completed, but maybe the story of this struggle is the best monument.
I have visited Crazy Horse, and hope one day the work is completed. It is, however, remarkable as it is. Thanks for telling the story, Glenn.
Interesting story, Glenn...I'd always wondered why they never finished the sculpture.
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