Crazy Horse Mountain

"My lands are where my dead lie buried."--Crazy Horse

In 1939, while Mount Rushmore was being carved, Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski (1908-1982) to carve a monument for the native peoples of the area, writing, "My fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too."

Ziolkowski, generally known simply as Korczak, was a Boston-born, self-taught sculptor of Polish descent. He accepted the invitation in 1947. He was almost 40 and had only $147 to his name when he began carving a mountain in the likeness of Crazy Horse. Over the years he battled financial hardship, racial prejudice, injuries and, finally, advancing age.

Unlike Mt. Rushmore, which is essentially a high relief, the sculpture of Crazy Horse will be fully three-dimensional. Korczak planned, in effect, to make a sculpture of the entire mountain.

He knew from the outset that Crazy Horse was much larger than any one person's lifetime. So, with his wife, Ruth, he prepared detailed plans for the completion of the mountain carving. Since Korczak's death, Ruth and their large family of ten children have dedicated themselves to continuing the Crazy Horse sculpture according to those plans.

(The likeness at right is a detail of a large portrait of Korczak in his studio-home at Crazy Horse, which is open to visitors. Click on the image for a full view of the portrait. Korczak's 1/34th scale model for the finished sculpture, viewed against Crazy Horse Mountain, can be viewed by clicking here.)

I first visited Crazy Horse on my first trip to Sturgis in 1984. Since then, I have made it a special point to return each time I am in the Black Hills, to see the progress, but mostly to be inspired by the spirit, both of the native peoples honored here and of the inspired madness of the self-taught sculptor who single-handedly took on the task of carving a mountain for them. In spite of the sometimes carnival atmosphere at the visitors center, I never fail to be moved by the beauty of the sculpture and of the people who have conceived and continue to execute it. There are also the wonderful displays of Native American art and cultural artifacts, along with exhibits of some of Korczak's other work and personal treasures. Also, the Crazy Horse people are very biker-freindly, especially during the Black Hills Rally week.

Crazy Horse is NOT a federal or state government project. Korczak repeatedly refused federal funding of the sculpture. It is financed entirely by donations from the interested public. If you would like to help create this tribute to the native peoples of America, as well as the indomitalbe spirit of the Polish immigrants' son who believed he could carve a mountain, contact for more information:

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