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Home  /  Destinations • Museums • South Dakota • West  /  Crazy Horse Monument: Completion in Decades
crazy horse memorial
23 September 2013

Crazy Horse Monument: Completion in Decades

Written by Steve Johnson
Destinations, Museums, South Dakota, West Leave a Comment

About 16.5 miles south west of Mt. Rushmore, deep in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is the Crazy Horse Monument.

The memorial was commissioned by Lakota Indian elder, Henry Standing Bear, who wanted a monument similar to Mt. Rushmore to honor what he felt was the greatest American Indian.

Henry Standing Bear offered his own 900 acres of land to the federal government in exchange for a barren rock mountain. The government agreed, and granted a plot of National Forest land. Construction started in 1948, about 7 years after the completion of Mt. Rushmore.

Polish sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who also worked on Mt. Rushmore, was hired to design the monument and sculpt the rock. He worked on it for 36 years until his death in 1982.

Since the death of the sculptor, the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation was set up to raise funds to continue work on the Memorial. The Foundation established a museum, gift shop, and cafe to help raise funds. They also offer tours. Visitors can pay to walk on the actual monument.

The museum cafe offers some Lakota style fare. I had the Bison Stew with Indian Fry Bread. Sash had the Indian Fry Bread Taco.

Entrance fee into the monument grounds is $5.00 per motorcycle, but if you drive a car it’s $11.00 per person.

Crazy Horse Monument
12151 Avenue of the Chiefs
Crazy Horse, SD 57730-8900
Phone: 605.673.4681
Open: 7 days a week
Website: http://crazyhorsememorial.org/

crazy horse memorial
Crazy Horse Memorial under construction
crazy horse memorial museum
Inside the Crazy Horse Memorial museum
crazy horse memorial model
A model of what the finished Crazy Horse Memorial will look like
charles m russell quote
A quote from Charles M. Russell about indians
crazy horse memorial
Crazy Horse Memorial
buffalo stew indian fry bread
Buffalo Stew with Indian Fry Bread at the museum cafe
crazy horse memorial museum
Bronze statue on display at Crazy Horse Memorial
wrong way to use a toilet
A sign in the restroom at Crazy Horse Memorial
indian head dress
Indian head dresses and clothing on display at Crazy Horse Memorial
crazy horse wood carving
Old Crazy Horse wood carving in the museum
crazy horse memorial
Sash and Steve at the Crazy Horse Memorial

Steve Johnson
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Having first started riding in 1985 on a Kawasaki KZ400, Steve has ridden all across the United States and Canada. He currently travels full time on his Honda ST1300, living wherever he can find a friendly roof. Follow him on, "Motorcycle Philosophy".

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