In the 1930s, Dorothy Hustead lay awake listening to the sounds of cars driving past her husband’s small drug store, wondering how she could get the cars to stop and make a purchase. She knew as time passed, there would be even more cars on that road; after all, the massive Mount Rushmore sculpture was in development, and when it opened thousands of tourists would be guaranteed to visit. There was good news in store for both the Husteads and the monument; Wall Drug became one of the USA’s most popular roadside attractions, and Mount Rushmore became one of them most visited sculptures in the world. But further into the Black Hills, work was just beginning on a sculpture to rival Mount Rushmore’s size and popularity and give travelers one more reason to stop for some free ice water on their drive through South Dakota: the Crazy Horse Memorial aimed to tell its own American story.

Who Was Crazy Horse?
Remembered for honor, bravery, and leadership, Crazy Horse was an iconic member of the Lakota tribe. Born in the early 1840s, Crazy Horse earned a reputation as a warrior from the time he was in his mid- to late teens, and he eventually played a big role in the Native Americans’ resistance to westward expansion as more and more settlers began to move into lands that the Lakotas called home.
Crazy Horse was best remembered as a leader during the Battle of Little Bighorn, where the Lakotas joined several other tribes to defeat General George Custer and the US Army in 1876. One year later, he surrendered after another altercation and died of a stab wound when a military guard acted to prevent his escape. Today, Crazy Horse remains an important symbol particularly to Native Americans, and his name has become synonymous with a spirit of defiance.
Celebrating a Legacy with the Crazy Horse Monument
The Crazy Horse Monument is somewhat uniquely integrated with the story of the man commissioned to sculpt it: Korczak Ziolkowski.

Constructing the monument has been a painstakingly detailed effort since work began in 1948. It was enormously difficult. From very small crews to hauling necessarily tools up and down the rockface to battling the elements (rock carving is tough in the rain and snow!), there have been plenty of obstacles that have slowed and stopped work as the decades passed. For many years, Ziolkowski was the only person actively working on the monument. Over the years, small groups of trained carving professionals have contributed to the effort, including his own 10 children. His sons helped him on the mountain as they prepared it for carving, and his daughters helped his wife, Ruth, with the development of the monument’s visitor center. When Ziolkowski passed away unexpectedly in 1981, it was Ruth who carried on the work, overseeing each detail to ensure the monument continued as envisioned by Standing Bear and her husband. Ruth passed away in 2014, and today her children and grandchildren continue to further Crazy Horse’s legacy- and the monument’s development.
When Will the Crazy Horse Memorial Be Finished?

More Information: CrazyHorseMemorial.org
Crazy Horse Memorial Tour
When we first walked through the door of the Crazy Horse Memorial visitor center, we were among the first people to arrive that day. A young woman checked our tickets and suggested we watch the movie before walking through the museum and visiting the monument itself. We decided to take her up on that recommendation; although we often pass on visitor center movies because of our own time constraints, we had the time to spare that morning. We were glad we watched; the movie provides a very complete overview of the memorial’s history, purpose, construction, and the Lakota legacy it celebrates. Interview clips featuring Ziolkowski invited us to learn why he was so passionate about the project, how Ruth came to share that passion, and why generations of his family chose to stay and assume leadership over the project. We laughed as Ziolkowski described some of the most challenging days, when we would start a machine needed for the carving process, climb 700 stairs to his work site, and find the machine had somehow turned off, meaning he had to walk all the way back down the mountain to restart it. The story is funny, especially as Ziolkowski told it for the cameras, but the humor didn’t mask his determination to get the job done.
After the movie, we spent time walking through the huge Indian Museum of North America that is connected to the visitor center. The museum strives to provide an education about the lives and cultures of Native American tribes, and much of the collection has been donated over the years to preserve each artifact. It’s easy to get lost in the stories told by artwork, carvings, and clothing; it provides a nice connection to the people who once made those items part of their everyday lives.

For a closer look at the monument, we took a quick bus ride to the base of the carving. The ride is available for a nominal extra fee, but it was well worth it. Our guide was almost bubbling over with a mix of joy and pride as he told us about the work being done, pointing out the challenges crews had to overcome to make any progress at all. From where we stood, the workers look like ants scurrying under Crazy Horse’s jaw, and we could hear the machinery echoing through the mountains. Our guide shared how the community is welcomed in to be part of the monument twice a year during their Volksmarch, when thousands of people complete a 10K hike along the paths and work roads to the monument’s chin. On summer nights a laser show lights up the sky. Cultural presentations, workshops, and speakers keep native stories alive and memorable.
Before we left, we stopped by the reception desk for a brochure to take with us. The gentleman we spoke with nodded back to the entrance, to the young woman who had checked our ticket when we first arrived. He mentioned that she was a student at the Indian University of North America, which continues Standing Bear’s dream of providing Native Americans with quality education opportunities. That, too, made us smile; although the university continues to be a work in progress, much like the rest of the area, it offers scholarships and a summer program to benefit young members of the Native American community. It’s not yet what Ziolkowski envisioned when he planned the memorial complex; the goal was to have a robust medical center and a full university in addition to the visitor center and monument, but those are also coming to life at a crawl, not a sprint.
Where to Stay Near the Crazy Horse Memorial
There are plenty of hotel options to choose from if you’re planning to stay in the area. We stayed in Rapid City, which is the largest metropolitan area close to Crazy Horse and about an hour by car. Rapid City is is also about 30 minutes from Mount Rushmore and it’s sure to have the largest selection of hotels in the region. We made the decision to stay in Rapid City after comparing some of our options on Booking.com, which is our favorite website for researching and selecting hotels. If you are thinking of a trip to see the Crazy Horse Memorial, take a look at Booking.com to see if they have a hotel that meets your needs as well!
Visit the Crazy Horse Memorial!
Before we boarded the tour bus for a quick ride from the monument to the visitor center, our guide told us to get all the pictures we wanted. “Come back in another 5 or 10 years,” he told us. “It will look a whole lot different than it does now.”
The Crazy Horse Memorial is just as much a tribute to patience and perseverance as it is a tribute to the man who inspired it. When completed, it will dwarf Mount Rushmore; all four presidents would be able to fit inside Crazy Horse’s head if they were to be placed side-by-side. It’s not without its frustrations, some of which come from the Lakota tribe themselves. Some have criticized the Ziolkowski family for making money off a culture and heritage that is not their own. Some grumble about how it should have been done by now, and still others wonder if it might go faster with government investment or oversight. We found ourselves simply hoping it might be done- or closer to completion- the next time we find ourselves close enough to stop in.
The Crazy Horse Monument invites this kind of introspection, and we were glad for the chance to learn about the Lakota tribe and their defiant protection of their people, land, and culture. The history of the United States is as complex as each of the people who is part of it. In South Dakota, that is personified by the profile of one of history’s great leaders looking out over his lands, fulling his own prediction that, “I will return to you in stone.”
One of these days, he’ll find himself pointing toward the lands he called home, too.
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