Crazy Horse Memorial

The story

In 1939, the Lakota chief Henry Standing Bear wrote to the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who had worked on Mount Rushmore, asking him to carve a memorial. “My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too,” he wrote. Ziolkowski began blasting in 1948 and worked on the mountain until his death in 1982. His family and the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation carry on the work, funded by visitors and donations rather than government money.

What to see

• The carving: seen from the viewing veranda about a mile away. The finished face is about 87 feet tall.
• The Indian Museum of North America: a large collection of art and artefacts from many Native nations.
• The sculptor’s studio and home: Ziolkowski’s log studio, models and tools.
• The Native American Educational and Cultural Center: artists, demonstrations and performances in summer.

Getting closer

From the visitor center you can take a bus to the base of the mountain for a fee. A few days a year, usually in June and September, the Volksmarch walk lets the public hike up to the arm of the carving.

Tips

• Admission is charged per person or per car. Check the current prices on the memorial’s website.
• On summer evenings, a laser light show is projected onto the mountain.
• It is only about ten minutes from Custer, so it is easy to visit late in the day.
• Allow time for the museum. Many visitors find it the highlight.