Crazy Horse memorial - wikipedia Crazy Horse memorial Crazy Horse Memorial A model of the planned colossal sculpture, with the Crazy Horse Memorial in the background ( August 2009 ) Coordinates 43 ° 50 ′ 12.44 '' N 103 ° 37 ′ 27.79 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.8367889 ° N 103.6243861 ° W ﻿ / 43.8367889 ; - 103.6243861 Coordinates : 43 ° 50 ′ 12.44 '' N 103 ° 37 ′ 27.79 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 43.8367889 ° N 103.6243861 ° W ﻿ / 43.8367889 ; - 103.6243861 Location Custer County, South Dakota, U.S. Designer Korczak Ziolkowski Southwestern South Dakota Sculptures Mount Rushmore ( National Memorial ) Crazy Horse Geologic formations Badlands ( National Park ) Bear Butte ( National Historic Landmark ) Needles Black Hills Spearfish Canyon Mountains Black Elk Peak Iron Mountain Caves Wind Cave ( National Park ) Jewel Cave ( National Monument ) Forests and wildernesses Custer ( State Park ) Black Hills ( National Forest ) Black Elk ( Wilderness ) Buffalo Gap ( National Grassland ) Lakes Sylvan Pactola The Crazy Horse Memorial is a mountain monument under construction on privately held land in the Black Hills, in Custer County, South Dakota, United States. It will depict the Oglala Lakota warrior, Crazy Horse, riding a horse and pointing into the distance. The memorial was commissioned by Henry Standing Bear, a Lakota elder, to be sculpted by Korczak Ziolkowski. It is operated by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, a nonprofit organization. The memorial master plan includes the mountain carving monument, an Indian Museum of North America, and a Native American Cultural Center. The monument is being carved out of Thunderhead Mountain, on land considered sacred by some Oglala Lakota, between Custer and Hill City, roughly 17 miles ( 27 km ) from Mount Rushmore. The sculpture 's final dimensions are planned to be 641 feet ( 195 m ) wide and 563 feet ( 172 m ) high. The head of Crazy Horse will be 87 feet ( 27 m ) high ; by comparison, the heads of the four U.S. Presidents at Mount Rushmore are each 60 feet ( 18 m ) high. The monument has been in progress since 1948 and is far from completion. If completed, it may become the world 's largest sculpture as well as the first non-religious statue to hold this record since 1967 ( when it was held by the Soviet monument The Motherland Calls ). Contents 1 Crazy Horse 2 History of the monument 3 Memorial foundation 4 Completed vision 5 Fundraising and events 6 Controversies 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Crazy Horse Crazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S. Federal government to fight against encroachments on the territories and way of life of the Lakota people. His most famous actions against the U.S. military included the Fetterman Fight ( 21 December 1866 ) and the Battle of the Little Bighorn ( 25 -- 26 June 1876 ). He surrendered to U.S. troops under General Crook in May 1877 and was fatally wounded by a military guard, while allegedly resisting imprisonment at Camp Robinson in present - day Nebraska. He ranks among the most notable and iconic of Native American tribal members and was honored by the U.S. Postal Service in 1982 with a 13 ¢ postage stamp that is part of its Great Americans series. History of the monument Korczak Ziolkowski and Henry Standing Bear. Henry Standing Bear ( `` Mato Naji '' ), an Oglala Lakota chief, and well - known statesman and elder in the Native American community, recruited and commissioned Polish - American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to build the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In October 1931, Luther Standing Bear, Henry 's older brother, wrote sculptor Gutzon Borglum, who was carving the heads of four American presidents at Mount Rushmore. Luther suggested that it would be `` most fitting to have the face of Crazy Horse sculpted there. Crazy Horse is the real patriot of the Sioux tribe and the only one worthy to place by the side of Washington and Lincoln. '' Borglum never replied. Thereafter, Henry Standing Bear began a campaign to have Borglum carve an image of Crazy Horse on Mt. Rushmore. In summer of 1935, Standing Bear, frustrated over the stalled Crazy Horse project, wrote to James H. Cook, a long time friend of Chief Red Cloud 's `` I am struggling hopelessly with this because I am without funds, no employment and no assistance from any Indian or White. '' On November 7, 1939, Henry Standing Bear wrote to the Polish - American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who worked on Mount Rushmore under Gutzon Borglum. He informed the sculptor, `` My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know that the red man has great heroes, too. '' Standing Bear also wrote a letter to Undersecretary Oscar Chapman of the Department of the Interior, offering all his own fertile 900 acres ( 365 ha ) in exchange for the barren mountain for the purpose of paying honor to Crazy Horse. The government responded positively, and the National Forest Service, responsible for the land, agreed to grant a permit for the use of the land, with a commission to oversee the project. Standing Bear chose not to seek government funds and relied instead upon influential Americans interested in the welfare of the American Indian to privately fund the project. In the spring of 1940, Ziolkowski spent three weeks with Standing Bear at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, discussing land ownership issues and learning about Crazy Horse and the Lakota way of life. According to Ziolkowski, `` Standing Bear grew very angry when he spoke of the broken Treaty of Fort Laramie ( 1868 ). That was the one I 'd read about in which the President promised the Black Hills would belong to the Indians forever. I remember how his old eyes flashed out of that dark mahogany face, then he would shake his head and fall silent for a long while. '' Memorial foundation The memorial is a non-profit undertaking, and receives no federal or state funding. The Memorial Foundation charges fees for its visitor centers and earns revenue from its gift shops. Ziolkowski reportedly was offered US $ 10 million for the project from the federal government on two occasions, but he turned the offers down. He felt the project was more than just a mountain carving, and he feared that his plans for the broader educational and cultural goals of the memorial would be overturned by federal involvement. After Ziolkowski died in 1982 at age 74, his widow Ruth Ziolkowski, took charge of the sculpture, overseeing work on the project as CEO from the 1980s to the 2010s. Ruth Ziolkowski decided to focus on the completion of Crazy Horse 's face first, instead of the horse as her husband had originally planned. She believed that Crazy Horse 's face, once completed, would increase the sculpture 's draw as a tourist attraction, which would provide additional funding. She also oversaw the staff, which included seven of her children. Sixteen years later, in 1998, the face of Crazy Horse was completed and dedicated ; Crazy Horse 's eyes are 17 feet ( 5 m ) wide. Ruth Ziolkowski and seven of the Ziolkowskis ' 10 children carried on work at the memorial. Ruth 's daughter, Monique Ziolkowski, herself a sculptor, modified some of her father 's plans to ensure that the weight of the outstretched arm was supported sufficiently. The foundation commissioned reports from two engineering firms in 2009 to help guide completion of the project. Work commenced on the horse after two years of careful planning and measurements. Ruth Ziolkowski died 21 May 2014, aged 87. Monique Ziolkowski, Ruth 's daughter, became CEO and three of her siblings continue to work on the project, as well as three of Monique 's nephews. Completed vision The memorial is to be the centerpiece of an educational / cultural center, to include a satellite campus of the University of South Dakota, with a classroom building and residence hall, made possible by a US $ 2.5 million donation in 2007 from T. Denny Sanford, a philanthropist from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is called the University and Medical Training Center for the North American Indian and the Indian Museum of North America. The current visitor complex will anchor the center. Sanford also donated US $ 5 million to the memorial, to be paid US $ 1 million a year for five years as matching donations were raised, specifically to further work on the horse 's head. Paul and Donna `` Muffy '' Christen of Huron, South Dakota, in July 2010, announced they were donating US $ 5 million in two installments to an endowment to support the operation of the satellite campus. It holds classes in math, English, and American Indian studies courses for college credit, as well as outreach classes. The memorial foundation has awarded more than US $ 1.2 million in scholarships, with the majority going to Native students within South Dakota. Fundraising and events Welcome ceremony for the UH - 72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopter The foundation sponsors Native American cultural events and educational programs. Annually in June, the Memorial hosts a Volksmarch, when the public is permitted on the mountain. Attendance has grown to as many as 15,000. Much of the earth - moving equipment used is donated by corporations. The work on the monument has been primarily supported by visitor fees, with more than one million people visiting annually. The visitor center contains many pieces of rock blasted from the mountain ; visitors may take samples in exchange for a small donation. The Memorial began its first national fund drive in October 2006. The goal was to raise US $ 16.5 million by 2011. The first planned project was a US $ 1.4 million dormitory to house 40 American Indian students who would work as interns at the memorial. Periodically the memorial publicizes blasting events, which attract thousands of people from all over the region. They may wait for hours as the clock counts down. The gala ends in numerous near - simultaneous detonations, and a great tumbling of rocks and dust down the mountain. Controversies Crazy Horse resisted being photographed and was deliberately buried where his grave would not be found. Ziolkowski envisioned the monument as a metaphoric tribute to the spirit of Crazy Horse and Native Americans. He reportedly said, `` My lands are where my dead lie buried. '' His extended hand on the monument is to symbolize that statement. Elaine Quiver, a descendant of one of Crazy Horse 's aunts, said in 2003 that the elder Standing Bear should not have independently petitioned Ziolkowski to create the memorial, because Lakota culture dictates consensus from family members for such a decision, which was not obtained before the first rock was dynamited in 1948. She said : They do n't respect our culture because we did n't give permission for someone to carve the sacred Black Hills where our burial grounds are. They were there for us to enjoy and they were there for us to pray. But it was n't meant to be carved into images, which is very wrong for all of us. The more I think about it, the more it 's a desecration of our Indian culture. Not just Crazy Horse, but all of us. Seth Big Crow, whose great - grandmother was an aunt of Crazy Horse 's, said he wondered about the millions of dollars which the Ziolkowski family had collected from the visitor center and shops associated with the memorial, and `` the amount of money being generated by his ancestor 's name ''. He said : Or did it give them free hand to try to take over the name and make money off it as long as they 're alive and we 're alive ? When you start making money rather than to try to complete the project, that 's when, to me, it 's going off in the wrong direction. Other traditional Lakota oppose the memorial. In his 1972 autobiography, John Fire Lame Deer, a Lakota medicine man, said : `` The whole idea of making a beautiful wild mountain into a statue of him is a pollution of the landscape. It is against the spirit of Crazy Horse. '' In a 2001 interview, Lakota activist Russell Means said : `` Imagine going to the holy land in Israel, whether you 're a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, and start carving up the mountain of Zion. It 's an insult to our entire being. '' See also List of colossal sculpture in situ List of statues by height List of the tallest statues in the United States References ^ Jump up to : Walker, Carson ( June 2, 2008 ). `` Crazy Horse Memorial turns 60 with no end in sight ''. USA Today. Retrieved 2011 - 07 - 17. Jump up ^ Rand III, Martin ( June 11, 2012 ). `` A memorial for Crazy Horse 64 years in the making... so far ''. CNN. Retrieved June 11, 2012. Jump up ^ Karg, Barb ; Sutherland, Rick ( 2010 ). Secret America : The Hidden Symbols, Codes and Mysteries of the United States. Adams Media. pp. 232 -- 233. ISBN 978 - 1 - 4405 - 0553 - 9. Jump up ^ Salter Reynolds, Susan ( December 26, 2010 ). `` Book review : ' The Killing of Crazy Horse ' by Thomas Powers ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 30, 2013. Jump up ^ `` George Kills in Sight Describes the Death of Indian Leader Crazy Horse ''. History Matters. George Mason University. Missing or empty url = ( help ) Jump up ^ U.S.P.S. ( December 21, 1985 ). `` Postal Bulletin : Great Americans Issue ( 1980 -- 1999 ) ''. Smithsonian National Postal Museum. Retrieved 28 October 2015. Jump up ^ Agonito, Joseph ( 2011 ). Lakota Portraits : Lives of the Legendary Plains People. p. 251. Jump up ^ Taliaferro, John ( 2002 ). Great White Fathers : The Story of the Obsessive Quest to Create Mount Rushmore. New York : Public Affairs. p. 328. Jump up ^ Swanson, John. `` Henry Standing Bear ( Mato Najen ), Lakota Sioux Intancan ''. aaanativearts.com. ^ Jump up to : Swanson ( 2008 ). `` 2008 Commemoration ''. crazyhorsemeorial.org. Archived from the original on 2015 - 07 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Mighty Memorial for Crazyhorse ''. Nevada State Journal. November 23, 1947. p. 19. Jump up ^ `` Press Release ''. Crazy Horse Memorial. April 21, 2003. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. ^ Jump up to : `` Ruth Ziolkowski obituary : Driving force behind a decades - long project to sculpt a vast memorial to Crazy Horse out of the Black Hills of Dakota ''. The Guardian. 2014 - 05 - 27. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 20. ^ Jump up to : Griffith, Tom ( 2014 - 05 - 23 ). `` Ruth Ziolkowski of Crazy Horse Memorial mourned ''. Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 2014 - 06 - 20. Jump up ^ Higbee, Paul ( April 27, 2001 ). `` Carving Crazy Horse ''. American Profile. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. ^ Jump up to : `` FAQs ''. crazyhorse.org. ^ Jump up to : Soderlin, Barbara. `` Progress quiets Crazy Horse doubts ''. Rapid City Journal. Retrieved 14 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` Ruth Ziolkowski 1926 - 2014 : Carrying on the dream ''. Argus Leader. 22 May 2014. Jump up ^ Seventy years later, quest to carve Crazy Horse Memorial continues CBS News, Retrieved April 21, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Crazy Horse Memorial fund drive to begin ''. Associated Press. August 21, 2006. Jump up ^ Bray, Kingsley M. `` Notes on the Crazy Horse Genealogy, Part 1 ''. American = Tribes.com. ^ Jump up to : `` Crazy Horse Memorial Generates Mixed Feelings ''. Voice of America News. 13 September 2003. Retrieved 21 June 2011. Jump up ^ Lame Deer, John ( Fire ) & Erdoes, Richard ( 1972 ). Lame Deer, Seeker of Visions ( Paperback ed. ). New York : Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0 - 671 - 55392 - 5. CS1 maint : Uses authors parameter ( link ) Jump up ^ Roberts, Chris ( September 2001 ). `` Russell Means, in Memoriam ''. The Progressive Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2012. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crazy Horse Memorial. Official site at crazyhorsememorial.org `` Live webcam ''. Crazy Horse Memorial. hide Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming Attractions Bear Butte Black Elk Wilderness Black Hills Central Railroad Black Hills National Forest Black Elk Peak Black Hills Playhouse Chapel in the Hills Crazy Horse Memorial Custer State Park Devils Tower Dinosaur Park Flintstones Bedrock City Homestake Mine Jewel Cave National Monument Mammoth Site Minuteman Missile National Historic Site Mount Rushmore National Memorial Mystic Miner Ski Resort Needles Pactola Lake Reptile Gardens Rushmore Cave Sheridan Lake Sitting Bull Crystal Caverns Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Sylvan Lake Terry Peak ski area Wind Cave National Park with bison herd Scenic routes Roads Norbeck Scenic Byway Iron Mountain Road Needles Highway Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway Trails Mickelson Centennial Trail Populated places Cities Belle Fourche Buffalo Chip Central City Custer Deadwood Edgemont Hot Springs Hill City Lead Newcastle Rapid City Spearfish Sturgis Whitewood Towns Buffalo Gap Fairburn Hermosa Keystone Pringle Sundance Unincorporated Dewey Four Mile Galena Hanna Johnson Siding Nemo Rochford Rockerville Silver City Three Forks History and people Native American Cheyenne people Lakota people Treaty of Fort Laramie ( 1868 ) established the Great Sioux Reservation Black Hills War, or Great Sioux War ( 1876 ) Black Elk Sitting Bull Crazy Horse Lone Horn Red Cloud Spotted Tail Old West Dakota Territory ( 1861 -- 1889 ) Black Hills Expedition ( 1874 ) Black Hills Gold Rush ( 1874 ) Newton -- Jenney Party ( 1875 ) Cheyenne - Black Hills Stage Route ( 1876 - 1887 ) Sidney - Black Hills Stage Road ( 1876 - 1887 ) Rapid City, Black Hills and Western Railroad ( 1893 -- 1947 ) Seth Bullock and Martha Bullock General George Armstrong Custer Dora DuFran Wild Bill Hickok Calamity Jane Historian Doane Robinson Sol Star Al Swearengen Charlie Utter Ghost towns Addie Camp Bismuth Blacktail Burdock Cambria Carbonate Etta Flatiron Greenwood Maitland Myers City Nahant Novak Pactola Sheridan Spokane Terraville Tigerville Tinton Trojan Modern Fossil Cycad National Monument ( 1922 - 1957 ) Stratobowl ( 1934 - 1959 ) Black Hills flood ( 1972 ) Sculptors Gutzon Borglum and Lincoln Borglum Author Joseph Bottum Politician Francis H. 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Question: when did the crazy horse memorial project began
Answer: October 1931