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Native American and cowboy cultures shared the spotlight at Crazy Horse Memorial.

The memorial celebrated the 20th anniversary of its popular package deal: The Crazy Horse Stampede Rodeo and Gift from Mother Earth.

Anne Ziolkowski, director of the memorial’s museum and rodeo, created the art show to complement the rodeo. Dozens of artists and artisans annually fill the memorial’s visitor center with their unique and striking wares.

“I think it’s done well for people, the spectators and the cowboys and the artists,” Ziolkowski said in a release. “The American Indian and Western art blends well together. Some of the people have been coming here for all 20 years.”

Lulu Red Cloud of Pine Ridge has showcased her handcrafted jewelry at the show for 15 years.

She said she’s always impressed by the quality of vendors’ work.

“I’ve seen a lot of talent here,” she said.

The rodeo and art show and sale debuted in 1991. The idea came at the request of a group of Native Americans who proposed Memorial officials host a rodeo in the spirit of reconciliation. They thought it fitting that such an event should unfold in the shadow of a memorial that honors all Native Americans in North America.

The art show recognized outstanding artists by awarding first, second and third place ribbons to various categories of arts and crafts.

Liz Anderson took home a third place ribbon for her beadwork. The honor came as a surprise because the Sisseton woman was without her intended submission.

“I forgot the bag at home,” she said.

So she improvised. She pulled out her wallet and gave it to the judges. The intricate beadwork features a buffalo against a rainbow on one side and paw prints and her initials and on the other.

Anderson said she only does such intricate projects upon request because they take so much time and effort to complete.

This weekend’s art show proved a family affair. Anderson’s son, Walter Chanku, sold his jewelry from a booth adjacent his mother.

Judy Busack was beaming after hearing her daughter took home first place in crafts for her pottery. The Chamberlain woman makes and sells handmade jewelry. Her daughter, Deb Burckhard, crafts horsehair pottery out of her Rapid City studio and displayed her creations at the show.

“I’m always trying to do something different,” she said.

The final day of Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association competition begins at 2 p.m. today. Tickets can be purchased at the memorial’s entrance or at the rodeo grounds. Rodeo tickets cost $10 for adults and $4 for children ages 6 to 13. Children under 6 get in free. Admission to Crazy Horse Memorial is free with the purchase of a rodeo ticket.

The Gift from Mother Earth Celebration art show and sale runs through 5 p.m. today. Weekend admission for the show is three cans of food per person for the KOTA Care and Share Food Drive.

“The Lakota elders had a dream. Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski had a vision. His family now has a mission.”

So begins writer Bill Wagner’s story for the Record Searchlight of Redding, Calif., and the Scripps Howard News Service (see story here). A news reporter for 45 years, Wagner and some members of his family most recently toured Crazy Horse Memorial in October 2009. Versions of his article have so far appeared in newspapers and their online sites from California to Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and Florida to Indiana.

The Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009, edition of CBS Evening News with Katie Couric spotlighted Crazy Horse Memorial as part of the network’s continuing “The American Spirit” series.

Atlanta-based correspondent Mark Strassmann, producer Daniel Steinberger and photographer Max Stacy were at the Memorial for a day in November. They interviewed Memorial president and chief executive Ruth Ziolkowski and her son Casimir “Cas” Ziolkowski, who is the foreman of the mountain carving crew. The CBS team also recorded a mountain blast, scenes of the Memorial’s grounds and the surrounding Black Hills. Excerpts of interviews sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski did with CBS 60 Minutes in 1977 also were used.

Strassmann, a 30-year broadcast news veteran, in an e-mail after the broadcast said he hoped to convey to viewers the scale and spirit of the Memorial’s ambitious project.

“Time and again, I’m always struck in stories I do by people who by sheer force of will or personality — or both — make big things happen,” Strassmann said. “But even by that standard, the story of the Ziolkowskis — Korczak in particular — stands out. This is a family that has literally moved a mountain. To me, carving the Crazy Horse Memorial is a story about many things. But most of all, it shows the American spirit alive and in action: visionary, daring, determined, resilient, and self-sufficient. We’re all living in a time when America needs those virtues from one coast to the other.”

Strassmann knows about traveling the country and world, logging 110,000 flying miles between assignments this year alone. Before coming to Crazy Horse, he reported on Mexican drug cartels establishing Atlanta as a distribution hub, and is in Las Vegas working on a story about the Southwest’s deepening water supply problems.

The Evening News averages 6.76 million viewers and Couric is the 2009 winner of the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in Media. She received the Freedom Forum honor during October ceremonies at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.

The “Crazy Horse monument rising” story is spreading to a world audience via the CBS News Web site and by Internet social networking links. And according to reporter Michal Sznajder, TVN24 in Poland plans to rebroadcast the story later this week. Polish media have long been interested in the mountain carving project started in 1948 by Korczak, a Polish-American born in Boston.

The Rapid City Journal reports that a new long-distance competition, the Run Crazy Horse marathon and half marathon, will be held next fall.
Veteran marathon organizer Jerry Dunn of Spearfish is teaming with race director Emily Wheeler to organize the October run from Crazy Horse Memorial to Hill City.
Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore National Memorial were previously featured for four years in a different marathon that has been discontinued.
For more, see Journal reporter Jeff Budlong’s report here.

By Barbara Soderlin
Rapid City Journal staff

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL — Korczak Ziolkowski has been gone for 27 years now, and on the anniversary of his death, people bring flowers to his tomb.

They walk up the gravel path, softened by damp moss and a mosaic of fallen aspen leaves, and shake hands with one of his sons, who stands to greet visitors on a cold fall day at the granite mountain encasing Crazy Horse, his stallion and the dreamer who created them.

Another year has passed since Ziolkowski died Oct. 20, 1982, at age 74.

Another year since he is said to have told his wife, “You must work on the mountain — but go slowly so you do it right.”

Another year for people to watch the progress and wonder, when will it be finished?

“Any time anybody asks me how long this is going to take, I say it’ll probably take less time than we think,” says Jeffrey Dean, executive director of the International Society of Explosives Engineers.

Read the Rapid City Journal report on Crazy Horse Memorial here.

Editorial Board
Argus Leader

Almost 27 years to the day after Korczak Ziolkowski’s death, another layer of his plan for the Crazy Horse Memorial is unfolding.

The site of his monumental sculpture is becoming a satellite educational affiliate of the University of South Dakota.

It’s practically a perfect match of mission and location.

The program will start next summer, if possible, with college prep classes and freshman-level college courses, including English, math and Native American cultural classes.

An important goal of the affiliate will be to boost educational odds for Native American students.

While college participation has been improving steadily for the past three decades, according to the Department of Education, Indian enrollment still is the lowest of any demographic group, and degree completion is about half that of the national average.

The combination of college-prep and freshman classes, with a potential to earn up to 12 college credits, will give students a leg up on both enrolling in and completing college.

All of this pleases Ruth Ziolkowski, Korczak’s widow and the president and CEO of Crazy Horse Memorial, because education was part of the couple’s vision for the monument from the beginning.

USD will benefit, too. What better place to teach Native American studies than at a site dedicated to remembering tribal history in the heart of the Black Hills, sacred to many tribal traditions?

Thanks to gifts from philanthropist T. Denny Sanford and Donna and Paul Christen of Huron, this program is a boon both for the memorial and USD – but above all, for Native American students’ potential success.

Additional Facts

THE FACTS

*     The University of South Dakota is opening a satellite educational affiliate at Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills.

*     Philanthropist T. Denny Sanford donated $2.5 million to build the complex. Interest from a $5 million endowment from Donna and Paul Christen of Huron will provide for operating costs.

*     Enrollees, mainly Native American students, will be able to earn six to 12 college credits.

The mobile classroom, STARBASE Project NOVA, is back again this fall at Crazy Horse Memorial for another round of educational outreach.

Project NOVA  is sponsored by the South Dakota Air & Army National Guard and is part of the Department of Defense (DoD) Starbase initiative to help minority and rural students.  NOVA is short for “New Opportunities, Visions and Attitudes.”

(read full story)

5^th annual Museum Day to be held Sept. 26

On Saturday, September 26, 2009 the Indian Museum of North America located at Crazy Horse Memorial will participate in the fifth annual Museum Day, presented by Smithsonian magazine.

Museum Day is a day when museums and cultural institutions nationwide open their doors free of charge to Smithsonian magazine readers and Smithsonian.com visitors.  A celebration of culture, learning and the dissemination of knowledge, Smithsonian’s Museum Day reflects the spirit of the magazine, and emulates the free-admission policy of the Smithsonian Institution’s Washington, DC-based properties.

“Crazy Horse Memorial is honored to be part of Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day 2009,” said Anne Ziolkowski-Christensen, Director of Museums for the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation.  “Our museum has an ever growing collection of Native American artifacts, and being part of the 2009 Museum Day helps increase awareness about the cultural and educational aspects of Crazy Horse Memorial” stated Ziolkowski-Christensen.

The Indian Museum of North America is home to an extraordinary collection of art and artifacts reflecting the diverse histories and cultures of the American Indian people.  Almost all of the items have been donated by generous individuals, including many Native Americans.  The museum, designed to complement the story being told in stone on the mountain, speaks eloquently to present and future generations about American Indian life.

Originally designed and built by Korczak Ziolkowski and his family, they were involved in all aspects of the museum construction to hold the cost to a minimum.  It was constructed from ponderosa pine which was harvested and milled at Crazy Horse.  The museum was dedicated on May 30, 1973.  It has expanded over the years and now houses three wings.

Last year, upwards of 200,000 people attended Museum Day.  All 50 states plus Puerto Rico were represented by 900 participating museums, including 84 Smithsonian affiliate museums.

Attendees must present Smithsonian magazine’s Museum Day Admission Card for free admission to participating institutions.  The admission card is downloadable at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.  Each card provides museum access for two people.  Only one admission card is permitted per household.  Listings and links to participating museums can also be found at www.smithsonian.com/museumday.

Crazy Horse Memorial is a nonprofit educational and cultural project honoring all American Indians and is located on Highway 16/385 between Hill City and Custer.  For more information on the Memorial, please call 605.673.4681.

On Wednesday, August 19 at 2:00 pm, visitors to Crazy Horse Memorial will witness one of the largest blasts in the history of the project. Work continues on the horse’s head and Wednesday’s blast will remove 4,362 tons from the 300 bench. The 300 bench represents work being done 300 feet below the top of Crazy Horse’s head.

Blasts of this magnitude have been very rare in the project’s 61-year history. To provide some perspective, 4,362 tons is the equivalent of 363 dump truck loads of rock.

Crazy Horse Memorial is a nonprofit educational and cultural project honoring all American Indians. Located on Highway 16/385 between Hill City and Custer, it is just 17 miles SW of Mt. Rushmore. For more information on the Memorial, please call 605.673.4681.

Bike is called ‘Commitment’

On Tuesday, August 4, Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation officials took possession of a custom made motorcycle created by Eric Gorges, Voodoo Choppers out of Clinton Township, Michigan. With the mountain as the backdrop, the unveiling took place on the viewing veranda in front of a standing room only crowd.

The handcrafted bike features a custom black, cream, and red paint job with a Crazy Horse Memorial theme. Gorges appropriately dubbed the bike ‘Commitment’ in a parallel drawn to Crazy Horse sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski’s grit and determination to carve a mountain.

Gorges visited Crazy Horse Memorial in 2008 and was immediately inspired by the project. In an effort to help with the fundraising, Gorges put his natural ability and talent to work and created this one-of-a-kind chopper that he donated to the Memorial to raffle off.

He is the founder and owner of Voodoo Choppers, which began its custom made bike business in 1999.

This bike represents the 5th annual bike raffle fundraiser sponsored by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. It is now on display in the Visitor Center. Tickets are one for $20 or three for $50. They may be purchased at the Memorial or by calling 605.673.4681. All proceeds will be used as a match towards the $5 million dollar Sanford challenge grant and will be used exclusively for the mountain carving.

The winning ticket will be drawn on Sept. 6, 2010, celebrating what would have been sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski’s 102nd birthday and honoring Crazy Horse’s death date in 1877.

Following the bike presentation, the crowd was treated to one of the biggest blasts of the season, removing 2,450 tons of rock off the mountain.

For more information on Eric Gorges and Voodoo Choppers, visit his website at www.voodoochoppers.com/index.html.

Crazy Horse Memorial is a nonprofit educational and cultural project honoring all American Indians. Located on Highway 16/385 between Hill City and Custer, it is just 17 miles SW of Mt. Rushmore. For more information on the Memorial and upcoming events, please call 605.673.4681.