Monument to Crazy Horse unfinished after decades of work

Monday, March 19, 2012  

Korczak Ziolkowski began sculpting a monument to Crazy Horse, the legendary Lakota leader, in 1947 and the huge undertaking remains unfinished after decades of work.

Ziolkowski died in 1982 but his wife, his children and his grandchildren are continuing the effort. Their Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation has employed tribal members and it has provided $1.5 million in scholarships to Indian students but some say the family is the only one that is benefiting from a project that was supposed to honor an important figure.

“I’ve never heard a single Native American, not one, ever say I’m proud of that mountain,” Tim Giago, the founder of Indian Country Today and the Native Sun News, told The New York Times

The Times doesn't say how much money has been spent on the project over the years but T. Denny Sanford, a businessman and philanthropist, recently donated $10 million. The foundation, whose budget is $7 million a year, raised $19 million over the past five years, the paper said.

Admission revenues were $2.3 million in 2010. The family also operates a gift shop and restaurant at the monument.

Get the Story:
A Monument to a Sioux Warrior, Its Completion Date Somewhat Unclear (The New York Times 3/18)