So the morning after Mt. Rushmore we drove to Crazy Horse, which- as you may know- is basically a huge middle finger from the Native Americans to the US Government (which it/we totally deserve, btw). After Mount Rushmore, Chief Sitting Bull pulls over the guy who supervised the project and is like, "yo- can you build one for the Indians, but like a million times bigger?" Just for reference- all four of Mt. Rushmore's presidents fit on Crazy Horses' FACE.
Seeing as this sculptor guy- let's call him John because his real name is super Polish and I can't spell it- knew the story of how we Europeans and later the Americans slaughtered, raped, and pillaged these people, said ok, sure. He then drew up the plans for the monument and set to work. He worked for ten years ALONE, using only pickaxes and an old compressor to carve thousands of tons of rock off of the face of a mountain. When he realized it was going too slowly, he married a woman named Ruth and- no joke- had TEN children who later all worked on Crazy Horse. He died in 1982 and several of his children and his widow are still members of the board that supervises the project.
Polish John was a Tea Partier before it was cool, refusing a dime of federal or state money to finance his and Sitting Bull's project. Instead, Crazy Horse relies solely on donations from private citizens and his own brood of slave-children. It's a wonder he didn't accept corporate sponsorship- "Taco Bell Presents the Crazy Horse Monument"has a nice ring to it.
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| You can kind of see the face over my right shoulder... |
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| What it will look like when it's done |
Today, the work continues on what will be an incredible testament to Native culture and overall determination and perseverance. We saw the crew set off a dynamite blast that will help carve the horse's head. I don't see Teddy Roosevelt's statue riding a horse...
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