Crazy Horse revisited (19 July)

On a visit to the States in 1996, we first saw the Crazy Horse Monument. This very special sculpture is more than just a tourist attraction. At the request of Chief Henry Standing Bear, Korczak Ziolkowski – after much consideration and intensive research – decided to take on the challenge of carving Chief Crazy Horse out of a mountain.

When we visited the site today, we took a bus trip to the foot of the mountain and learned many interesting details about the sculpture and even more about the man behind it. Ziolkowski was orphaned at the age of one and suffered a miserable childhood in various foster families. None the less, he educated himself and became a world-renowned Skulptur. During his research into the life of Crazy Horse, he learned that the Chief carried a stone in a pouch around his neck, and before his murder told his followers: I will come back in stone. Ziolkowski was tremendously impressed with this connection to his idea. However, in between his decision and the actual commencement of the carving, he enlisted in 1934 and was part of the invasion on D-Day on Omaha beach. He was wounded but survived and when he returned home, Chief Standing Bear said it was so he could realize the dream of creating the monument. Then Chief Standing Bear asked Ziolkowski when he was born …and it was on the same day and month as the death of Crazy Horse, 6^th September!

 

In 1948, Ziolkowski himself bored the holes for the dynamite and set off the first explosion on the mountain. Over the years, he and his wife, Ruth worked tirelessly on their project. Together they built the stairs leading up the mountain to the building sites. She guided him while he hung from the side of the cliff to paint on the horse’s head. Together they had ten children, who were schooled in a little house on the premises and helped on the mountain and in the home …and they and their children are still actively involved in the Memorial Foundation.

The fighting stallions ... one of many marvelous sculptures by Ziolkowski

Ziolkowski wanted more than just to carve a figure, representing the Native American Nation. He also planned a Native American Educational and Cultural Center and Ruth was responsible for the Welcome Center, Restaurant and Gift shop, as well as standing in as a bus driver and guide to the monument. Zielkowski’s credo was: “Never Forget Your Dreams”. Anybody who has seen his work and heard his story will never forget.