crazy horse memorial foundation - near mount rushmore

granite thunderhead mountain is 1 mile from 1/34 scale model in foreground
head itself is nearly 9 stories tall

"my fellow chiefs and i would like the white man
to know the red man has great heroes, too"
lakota chief henry standing bear

webmaster posted this site to honor & tribute native americans.
please show your appreciation by making donations to the below memorial.

ruth ziolkowski

on june 26, 1998 ruth ziolkowski, wife of sculptor korczak ziolkowski, celebrated her 72nd birthday. traditionally a night blast is held in celebration of the day. in 1998, hundreds of visitors gathered on the verandah at crazy horse memorial to wish mrs. ziolkowski a happy birthday with cameras in hand and on tripods to photograph the spectacular blast and annual event.

hundreds of visitors also gathered in the newly expanded parking lot to witness the blast. along a fence line, which could have been labeled camera row, people set up tripods and placed cameras on wooden fence posts holding the cameras steady, to capture a life-long memory.

the following night blast was on september 6, 1998 which was a dual blast commemorating the anniversaries of crazy horse's death in 1877 and the birth of korczak ziolkowski in 1908.

50th anniversary commemorative items
the gift shops at crazy horse memorial, korczak's heritage, inc., offer many unique american indian made, south dakota made and western designed items. 50th anniversary items containing the official logo are now available. mail, phone or fax ordering is available. you can also order or obtain information about the special 50th anniversary collectible items by calling (605) 673-4681, or write to:

korczak's heritage
avenue of the chiefs
crazy horse sd 57730

crazy horse history
perhaps he is most famous for defeating general george armstrong custer and the 7th cavalry at the battle of the little bighorn in 1876. a brilliant military tactician, crazy horse never lost a battle. ironically, he was killed not in war, but while parleying with the u.s. army. in the middle of a truce, a scuffle broke out and a soldier stabbed crazy horse in the back.

the sioux leader remains a symbol to his people of a courageous warrior, a man who never compromised his values.

henry standing bear history
in 1939, henry standing bear, an oglala sioux chief, wrote to korczak ziolkowski, a sculptor who had assisted in carving the presidential faces on mount rushmore. standing bear invited him to build a monument to crazy horse. "my fellow chiefs and i would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes too," he wrote. indian representatives were adamant that a home for the monument be found in the black hills - sacred land of their people.

korczak ziolkowski history
accepted standing bear's invitation (above) and with his own savings, obtained a special permit that allowed him to stake a mining claim on a mountain in the black hills. on june 3, 1948, with 5 survivors of the battle of the little bighorn attending the ceremonies, ziolkowski watched as standing bear and south dakota gov. george t. mickelson set off the first charge of dynamite. the sculptor and the indian chief had launched a dream.

for more valuable information, please see readers digest, april 1998 an article therein titled "a dream in stone" which is from a book titled "we know what to do" by lamar alexander