Mount Rushmore

Mount Rushmore…What went Right and Wrong

   Mount Rushmore was built on The Six Grandfathers Mountain of South Dakota on land stolen from the Lakota Sioux in the war of 1876 to 1877. The name was changed to “Rushmore” to honor a wealthy East Coast banker by Carrie Swancey, the sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

   The monument was first proposed by Doane Robinson in 1923 to increase Black Hills tourism, and to celebrate the first 150 years of North America’s history.

   The original sculptures were Guston Borglum, and his understudy Korczak  Ziolkowski. The initial idea was to honor Five people; Lewis and Clark (those who explored the West), Chief Joseph of the Nez Pierce (those who inhabited the West), Bill Hickock (those who tamed the West), and William F. Cody (those who kept the Western spirit alive).

   However, when President Coolidge got involved, he demanded the idea involve politicians (go figure). Borglum, who’d become famous by carving the Confederate Memorial on Stone Mountain, Georgia wasn’t really interested in the idea of a Native American sculpture.

   In 1925 Borglum then settled on an immense figure of a young George Washington in a three cornered hat. To avoid controversy, and secure funding, Coolidge insisted on two democrats, and another Republican joining Washington.

   Several times attempts have been made in congress to add figures to Jefferson, Roosevelt, Washington, and Jackson. These have included Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and astronaut Neil Armstrong. All were defeated.

   Despite a public outcry to add Susan B. Anthony in 1937, the project went forward as planned. Ziolkowski left the project when partially completed.

   The state of South Dakota has made millions from Mount Rushmore. The Sioux nation has sued for one-tenth of one, one hundredth percent of the money earned from ‘Black Hills Gold’. They’ve repeatedly been defeated in both state and federal courts. Not because they’re not right, but because reparations on this large a scale is a slippery slope the United States can’t afford to get involved in. Instead, a portion of all proceeds from Mt. Rushmore tourism should be awarded to the Sioux Nation, to be used strictly for education, and job development.     

   In 1939, at the request of Chief Henry Standing Bear, Ziolkowski began work on the Crazy Horse Monument. Crazy Horse never had his picture taken. His image is depicted purely from spoken descriptions and folklore. He was stabbed in the back by Army scout Little Big Man and died shortly after. The army buried the Oglala Sioux leader in a deliberately hidden grave.

   Despite twice being offered ten million dollars by the federal government to complete the project, the family has refused. It should take another thirty years to complete and will be more than eight times bigger than Mt. Rushmore. It will be indisputably the largest sculpture in the entire world.