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Is supporting the Crazy Horse Memorial an appropriate
way to assist the Lakota people in their current hardships?
In Custer, South Dakota, a face no living person has ever seen
is being carved in stone. Crazy Horse, the famed Oglala Lakota
leader, is the subject of a massive sculpture in South Dakota,
a well-intentioned nonprofit project commissioned by Lakota chief
Henry Standing Bear and undertaken by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski
and his family. Yet the sculpture, an intended tribute to the
Lakota people, has caused controversy; the complex issues surrounding
the Crazy Horse Memorial have divided the tribe-nation that it
was meant to unite. Is the Crazy Horse Memorial an appropriate
venue for those who wish to assist the Lakota people in their
current hardships? And if not, what effective alternatives exist?
The Crazy Horse Memorial was first conceived by Lakota chief
Henry Standing Bear, who explained that, "My fellow chiefs and
I would like the white man to know the red man had great heroes,
too." Korczak Ziolkowski, who was working on the Mount Rushmore
carving, attracted the chief's attention when a marble bust he
created won first prize at the New York World Fair. The two
met in 1946 and chose the Black Hills, sacred land still under
dispute, as the location for the memorial: a choice which Ziolkowski
resisted as being too close to Mount Rushmore. The proximity
to Rushmore, however, is half the point.
Mount Rushmore's completion in 1941 offended many Lakota as
a stark reminder of the claim of the U.S. government to sacred
Indian lands. The Black Hills, in particular, are a point of
contention with the Lakota. To appreciate the significance of
these lands to the Lakota people, take the example of the Indian
Claims Commission Act of 1946. The act entitled the Lakota to
receive monetary compensation for the lands taken from them in
violation of the Treaty of 1868, on the condition that they relinquish
any future claims to the land. For over fifty years, the destitute
Lakota have refused the cash award of over $350 million: no small
statement from an impoverished community with lower life expectancies
than any other nation in this hemisphere except Haiti. Part
of the logic behind the Crazy Horse Memorial, then, is to one-up
Rushmore, and effectively beat the white man at his own game.
The problem is that to beat the white man at his own game requires
the Lakota to play the white man's game. Chief Standing Bear
stated that, "This is to be entirely an Indian project under
my direction." Today, however, only four of the twenty-three
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation board members are Lakota. Yet
the problem goes beyond Lakota involvement. The concept and
execution of the memorial run counter to Lakota traditions.
Many Lakota object outright to the destruction of the Black Hills,
even in the name of Crazy Horse. Jodi Rave Lee, part-Lakota
journalist for the Lincoln Journal-Star, wrote: "While the monument
is supposed to honor Native people, there is no honor in desecrating
sacred land". Others take issue with the idea of venerating
a single man, as it reflects the U.S. spirit of individualism
rather than the Lakota ideal of honor in community. Still more
point out that Crazy Horse refused to be photographed or sketched
during his short lifetime. Paying tribute to him with a massive
likeness, they argue, is simply inappropriate.
In its defense, though, the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
can hardly be accused of lack of generosity. Last year, the
nonprofit foundation raised over $3.7 million without government
aid. However, many wonder if the money is being well spent.
The statue, which may take another century to complete, takes
a large portion of the funds, as do the facilities at the Memorial
site. These include the Indian Museum of North America, two
movie screens, a gift shop, an Indian vendor's market, photography
displays and "Korczak's Workshop", a display of the sculptor's
previous work. Eventually, the foundation intends to build a
medical school and Lakota university. These projects are being
delayed, however, until the completion of the monument, and as
a result, the memorial in its current form caters to non-Indian
tourists rather than the Lakota. In this vein, Lee added, "As
Native people, we aren't in dire need of another museum to display
our past, our history, our culture". She and others voice the
concern that the memorial perpetuates a soft-focus myth of the
Lakota by exoticizing the past rather than illuminating contemporary
tribal issues.
Opinions differ among the Lakota as to whether the benefits
of the Crazy Horse Memorial outweigh its compromises. To some,
the Crazy Horse Memorial represents one of the few practical
means by which the Lakota community might improve itself. Realistically,
they argue, tourism is where the money is. Others lament that
the Lakota community remains beholden to the pocketbooks (and
tastes) of non-Lakota. During the past summer, I was fortunate
enough to visit the Crazy Horse Memorial with a school group.
The visit was part of a weeklong trip to a multitude of Lakota
cultural sites, where I gained insight into Lakota traditions
and philosophy. I shared the objections of many Lakota to the
Crazy Horse Memorial's approach to bringing aid to the Lakota
tribe-nation. However, I found myself unable to determine any
better ways to bring badly-needed funds to the Lakota community.
Until a pragmatic solution can be found which avoids the pratfalls
of the Crazy Horse Memorial, the memorial may be the Lakota tribe-nation's
best source of regular income.
During his lifetime, Crazy Horse refused to allow himself to
be photographed or sketched. His admiration within the Lakota
community is largely due to the fact that he never signed a treaty
with the American government. In short, Crazy Horse never compromised.
It is strange, then, that a tribute in his name should be so
clearly a compromise. My personal experience with the Crazy
Horse Memorial left me disappointed. The memorial's exhibits,
stocked with moccasins and turquoise necklaces, fell far short
of the lecture I received from Professor Randy Little Eagle at
Sinte Gleska University, the wachipi I attended on White Horse
Reservation, and the information session I sat through at Porcupine
Clinic on Pine Ridge Reservation. Even the memorial's film,
"Carving Crazy Horse", afforded sculptor Ziolkowski a higher
billing than Crazy Horse himself. Yet it is difficult to criticize
such an effective breadwinner for the Lakota people. I would
hesitate to support the Crazy Horse Memorial, but the memorial
may be one of the few means to the ends of accomplishing greater
health and prosperity in the Lakota community, and for the Lakota,
the ends may well justify the means. Unfortunately, what pulls
the Lakota people out of poverty may end up being compromise.
By: Emily Alpert
Emily's Essay
Comments can be sent to uchicago2006@hotmail.com
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Admission Essays