Cultural Programs Opportunities
The application process for Native American artists, performers, and culture bearers looking for opportunities to exhibit, enhance, or share their artistic talents and cultural knowledge for the 2023 season is open. There are five different cultural programs that can be applied to. Click on each link to view a description and application: Artist in Residence, Gift From Mother Earth Native and Western Art Show and Sale, Living Treasures, Performers & Storytellers, and Talking Circle. Please email culturalprograms@crazyhorse.org for any further assistance or information.
Upcoming Special Performances
June 2, 6:30pm: Aaron White’s Bluestone Project featuring John Densmore (The Doors) and Jesse Valenzuela (Gin Blossoms). More information below.
75th Anniversary Special Weekend
Help Crazy Horse Memorial® celebrate 75 years since the first blast with a special weekend.
- June 2, 6:30pm: Aaron White’s Bluestone Project featuring John Densmore (The Doors) and Jesse Valenzuela (Gin Blossoms)
- June 3, 37th Spring Volksmarch. Saturday Only. Waived admission for hikers with 3 cans of food person. Regular admission rates for all others.
- June 4, Special Public Celebration. Special Program and Events throughout the day.
See Below for More Details.
June 2, 2023
To kick off the 75th Anniversary weekend, The Bluestone Project will perform at Crazy Horse Memorial on Friday, June 2, with special guests John Densmore (drummer for legendary American rock band The Doors) and Jesse Valenzuela (musician and singer for 90’s alternative rock group Gin Blossoms)! Pictured here are members of The Bluestone Project from left to right: Ed Michaels, Gary Rasmussen, and Aaron White.
Their performance will take place at 6:30pm on the Veranda Stage.
June 3, 2023
37th Spring Volksmarch. Saturday Only. Waived admission for hikers with 3 cans of food person for the KOTA Terriotroy Care and Share program. Regular admission rates for all others. Hike to the top of Crazy Horse's Arm and see the progress.
June 4, 2023
Main Stage - Upper Parking Lot Area
10:00AM Main Program begins
• Scheduled Lakota Helicopter Flyover
• Kevin Phillips and Ruben Little Head, Co-Emcees
• Lakota Prayer – Dr. Gerald Yellow Hawk
• Welcome by Whitney A. Rencountre II, CEO Crazy Horse
• Remarks from Tribal Chairman Ryman LeBeau, Cheyenne River Sioux
• National Anthem – Gabriella Knife
• Veterans Recognition from Chairman Peter Lengkeek,
Crow Creek, USMC Veteran
• Veteran Honor Song – Stampede
• Dance Performance Demonstration – Grass, Jingle and Stampede
• Crazy Horse Memorial History – Dr. Sid Goss, Board Member
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
• Keynote Speaker, Billy Mills, Olympic Gold Medal Winner
• Dance Performance Demonstration – Traditional and Fancy Dance,
Stampede
• Mountain Presentation, Dr. Caleb Ziolkowski, Director
of Mountain Carving
• Closing Remarks – Whitney A. Rencountre II
• Honor Song – Uriah Little Hoop and Stampede
12:15 – 1:00PM Intermission
• 1:00PM – Welcome Back
• Crazy Horse Song – Marlon Kelly
• 1:15 – 4:20 Individual Dance Performances
• Drum & Song Group – Stampede
• Grass Dancers – Jon Taken Alive and Jackson Taken Alive
• Traditional Dancers – Ruben Little Head, Jr and Emily Little Hoop
• Tipi Knowledge – Charlie Cuny
• Jingle Dancers – Uriah Little Hoop, Gabrielle Knife
and Israelle Knife-Pederson
• Hoop Dancer – Dallas Chief Eagle
• All-Dancer Performance
• Hand Game Winner announced
• Closing Remarks
Welcome Center Theatre
• 1:00PM – Welcome from Andrew Dunehoo, Director of Museums and Cultural Affairs,
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
• 1:00 – Jeffery Not Help Him – Dewey Beard Family History Presentation
• 1:30 – Donald Montileaux, Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Board Member, Artist
• 2:00 – Michael Laughing Fox Charette, Flute
• 2:30 – Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation Board Panel
• 3:00 – The Indian Museum of North America® Presentation – Andrew Dunehoo
• 3:30 – The Indian University of North America® Staff and Student Panel
• 4:00 – Dewey Bad Warrior – Descendants of Crazy Horse the Man Presentation
Throughout the Crazy Horse Complex
THE VERANDA STAGE
• 9:00AM– Michael Laughing Fox Charette, Flute
• 4:30 – Michael Laughing Fox Charette, Flute
MOUNTAIN VIEW ROOM
• 9:00AM – Hand Games, hosted by Marlon Kelly –
the 2023 Crazy Horse Memorial® Descendants of the Battle
of Greasy Grass Hand Game Championships will begin
THE NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL AND EDUCATIONAL CENTER
• ALL DAY – June Artist in Residence, Sheridan MacKnight
Daily Cultural Performances
Daily Performances will begin on May 26, 2023 and continue through September 30, 2023 at 11:30 am, 1:30 pm and 4:30 pm.
Experience a cultural performance on our veranda. Performance will be moved to the covered porch area if weather is a concern.
Apply for the 2023 season daily cultural Performers and Storytellers.
Mahkoche Kin: The Land
The 2023 dates are May 12, 26, June 9, 23, July 14, 28, August 11, 25, and September 8, 22, at 10:00 am and 2:00 pm.
Hosted by the Museum Team and lead by artist and Oglala Lakota College Faculty Member, Darrell Red Cloud, Mahkoche Kin teaches visitors about why Crazy Horse Memorial® is in the Black Hills and their significance to the surrounding tribal nations.
Attendees will have the chance to get “off the beaten path” and see the Black Hills through a Native perspective enriched by the cultural knowledge held by the Lakota People.
Mahkoche Kin consists of a short and easy to moderate 1.5 hour (90 minute) outdoor walk. There are three stops along the route for presentations and immersive activities. The program is not a traditional hike and consists of mildly strenuous, uneven terrain – closed toed shoes and pants are recommended.
Sign-up will happen the DAY OF each program and the attendee numbers are limited. Be sure to visit Crazy Horse Memorial® on these special days to take part.
Talking Circle Speaker Series
Native artists, performers, and culture bearers share their knowledge and skill with visitors to the Memorial by offering a presentation about current cultural issues, traditions, and living heritage of North American Indians.
The 2023 Talking Circle Speaker Series will take place on the following Thursdays at 6:30 pm.
- June 15 – Wallace Watts, The Seatlle Seahawks use of Native Imagery and the Educational and Philanthropic Goals of Captain Seahawk and KamHawk.
- June 29 – Cynthia Holmes, Art as a Healing Mechanism
- July 13 – L.A. Williams, 30 years of Radio Personality: From Sportscasting NBA Games in Diné Language to Managing Tribal College Radio
- July 27 – Lawrence Swalley, The Lakota Creation Story
Living Treasures Indian Arts Cultural Exchange
The 2023 Living Treasures dates, artists, and workshops are as follows:
- May 29 - June 4: Matthew Hiltermann, Métis Finger Weaving
- June 3 - June 9: Harvey Abeyta, Flint Knapping
- July 2 - July 8: Cynthia Holmes, Medicine Bags
- July 30 - August 5: Red Mountain Creations, Shell Etching
- September 3 - September 9: Nagwakwa Jackson, Clothes Pin Dolls
- October 1 - October 7: Mike Lammers, The Importance of Feathers*
Native artists teach the creation of artwork to visitors in the Native American Educational and Cultural Center®. Between 10:00am – 6:00pm, visitors are encouraged to stop in and learn how to create the selected medium of art along with its cultural significance. Each workshop is modeled to be completed within 90 minutes.
*While the Living Treasures program is intended for visitors to take a craft home with them, The Importance of Feathers workshop will not provide that opportunity. Working with turkey feathers, visitors will learn about the cultural significance of particular feathers pertaining to ceremony and the importance of the item that the feathers will be attached to throughout the week of the program.
Artist in Residence
The 2023 Artist in Residence program will begin May 1, 2023 and continue through September 29, 2023.
Artists work on projects in a public studio space in the Native American Educational and Cultural Center® during each one-month residency. Visitors are encouraged to stop by the studio space to visit with the Resident Artist and each artist will give a public demonstration, discussion, workshop, or lecture on Wednesdays at 12:30pm.
- May 1 – May 30: Iris Sully, carving, beadwork
- June 1 – June 29: Sheridan MacKnight, painting
- July 1 – July 29: Derrick Thompson, weaving
- August 1 – August 30: Daryl No Heart, painting
- September 1 – September 29: TBA
Legends in Light® Laser Show
Will begin May 26 through September 30, 2023.
Legends in Light® the Crazy Horse Memorial® multimedia laser-light show is presented nightly, at dark, in season (weather permitting). The laser-light show effectively uses the Mountainside as a giant 500-foot “screen” for the spectacular display.
Special Days of Remembrance
- June 26, 2023 - Special Day to Remember The Battle of the Little Big Horn and Ruth Ziolkowski
This special day commemorates the dual anniversaries of The Battle of the Little Big Horn and the birth of Ruth Ziolkowski.
- September 6, 2023 - Special Day to Remember the death of Crazy Horse & Korczak Ziolkowski
This special day commemorates the dual anniversaries of the 1877 death of Crazy Horse and the 1908 birth of sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski.
The public is encouraged to visit Crazy Horse Memorial on each Special Day for a day and night of activities.
**Laughing Water Restaurant will open at 11:00 am and will close at 4:00 pm for a private reception. The Snack Shop will open at 9:00 am and close when the Laser LIght Show starts.
Gift from Mother Earth Art Show
June 16 - 18, 2023
Every year Crazy Horse Memorial® celebrates the arts and crafts that are melding Native American cultures and the New West. During the three days of the Gift From Mother Earth, over 20 exhibitors showcase and sell a wide variety of artwork. Booths open at 8 am all three days.
Apply for the 2023 Gift from Mother Earth Native and Western Art Show and Sale.
Volksmarch
Spring Volksmarch- First Saturday Only in June 2023
The Crazy Horse Spring Volksmarch (an organized hike) is a 10K (6.2-mile) woodlands walk to the world’s largest Mountain Carving in progress in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. June 3, 2023
Autumn Volksmarch - same weekend as Custer State Park’s Buffalo Round-Up - Sunday Only
This autumn hike will be on the Sunday of the Custer State Park’s Buffalo Round-Up.
Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation and BHVA will host the Fall Volksmarch in October. Sunday, October 1, 2023 and will be held the same weekend as the Custer State Park Buffalo Round-Up.
Native Americans' Day
Monday, October 9, 2023 @ 10:00 AM
Celebration of Native Americans' Day 2023, we will have a program filled with song, dance, and speakers. We will also award the Educator of the Year. Don't miss this special day, This day is always one to celebrate!
