Saturday, September 17, 2005
CRAZY LIKE A HORSE
After Rushmore, we took a short drive over to the nearby Crazy Horse Monument. It is supposed to bigger, it is, and better, it is not. Of course, it is also not finished nor does it appear that it will be finished any time in the near future. A fellow tourist bent down to tell her granddaughter that she could bring her kids here to watch them work on it...and their kids.....and their kids. It certainly will be impressive when complete though. If ever.....
We went into the Visitors Center, Museum and Cultural Center where we watched a short film about the history of the monument, the sculptor, the Indians, and the plans for the entire site which included a University, a medical center, athletic complexes and other buildings dedicated to the orignal Americans culture and history. Like the monument itself..............none of this has been completed. The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, his wife and eleven kids have worked and lived at the site since they began work in 1948. For nearly 60 years, and all there is to show for what was promised the Indians is a "face", a small museum, and a cultural center which was basically nothing more than a market.
Sad, sad, sad. Much like Indian history in North America since the outside world arrived in large numbers. I can understand the monument taking such a long time to build but there is no University, no medical center, none of the very impressive things promised to Chief Standing Bear and his fellow Lakota. It reminded me of a modern day version of the roadside teepees you used to see travelling west on the highway many years ago. Where tourists could buy trinkets and novelties from people who were maybe original Americans or maybe not. Those disappeared as victims of political correctness long ago, along with probably several thousand Indians legitimate livelihood, only to be replaced by the modern day version of the roadside teepee which is this monument.
How depressing! What litte Indian history I know about, and no I don't count the mythological indoctrination taking place on today's college campuses as legitimate history, Crazy Horse was not a victim. And that is exactly what this whole "failed" memorial concept reminds me of, a continued victimization of a people and a culture who were the first Americans. I love history and I would love to know more about the people of North America prior to the arrival of others. Pathetically, like so many other things today their history is politicized to the point that not only were the numbers of Indians physically decimated but now these liberal "do-gooders" are turning their history and culture into something akin to trolls, gnomes, and other creatures of folklore. This culture faces complete elimination now by those who purport to support it! This memorial screams out that it is more about, once again, the white man than about the Indian. And it is a crying shame.
I am a Native American and these people are the original Native Americans and I want to learn about the history and culture of this land without trying to play the "my monument is bigger than your monument" childish game. Visiting there made me sad and disgusted. Now, after several months, I'm angry that what should be a great opportunity to celebrate the first Americans, has turned into a kitschy farce of a tourist trap. I guess people are too busy arguing over Chief Illiniwek to pay attention to the real issues of history and culture. And until that day comes this Memorial will remain incomplete.
So Ward Churchill, Stephen Kaufman, Charlene Teeters, William Cook and you holier-than-thou types out there pretending that your bastardization of the original Americans history and culture is the only side of the story, think again. There are many out there who seek the truth and you charlatans simply can't provide it. Keep the Chief and finish Crazy Horse as a tribute to great peoples not victims. Sleep Walking Bear is proud of his history and the land he calls home. The good, the bad and the ugly because that is what REAL people and REAL history are all about.
We went into the Visitors Center, Museum and Cultural Center where we watched a short film about the history of the monument, the sculptor, the Indians, and the plans for the entire site which included a University, a medical center, athletic complexes and other buildings dedicated to the orignal Americans culture and history. Like the monument itself..............none of this has been completed. The sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, his wife and eleven kids have worked and lived at the site since they began work in 1948. For nearly 60 years, and all there is to show for what was promised the Indians is a "face", a small museum, and a cultural center which was basically nothing more than a market.
Sad, sad, sad. Much like Indian history in North America since the outside world arrived in large numbers. I can understand the monument taking such a long time to build but there is no University, no medical center, none of the very impressive things promised to Chief Standing Bear and his fellow Lakota. It reminded me of a modern day version of the roadside teepees you used to see travelling west on the highway many years ago. Where tourists could buy trinkets and novelties from people who were maybe original Americans or maybe not. Those disappeared as victims of political correctness long ago, along with probably several thousand Indians legitimate livelihood, only to be replaced by the modern day version of the roadside teepee which is this monument.
How depressing! What litte Indian history I know about, and no I don't count the mythological indoctrination taking place on today's college campuses as legitimate history, Crazy Horse was not a victim. And that is exactly what this whole "failed" memorial concept reminds me of, a continued victimization of a people and a culture who were the first Americans. I love history and I would love to know more about the people of North America prior to the arrival of others. Pathetically, like so many other things today their history is politicized to the point that not only were the numbers of Indians physically decimated but now these liberal "do-gooders" are turning their history and culture into something akin to trolls, gnomes, and other creatures of folklore. This culture faces complete elimination now by those who purport to support it! This memorial screams out that it is more about, once again, the white man than about the Indian. And it is a crying shame.
I am a Native American and these people are the original Native Americans and I want to learn about the history and culture of this land without trying to play the "my monument is bigger than your monument" childish game. Visiting there made me sad and disgusted. Now, after several months, I'm angry that what should be a great opportunity to celebrate the first Americans, has turned into a kitschy farce of a tourist trap. I guess people are too busy arguing over Chief Illiniwek to pay attention to the real issues of history and culture. And until that day comes this Memorial will remain incomplete.
So Ward Churchill, Stephen Kaufman, Charlene Teeters, William Cook and you holier-than-thou types out there pretending that your bastardization of the original Americans history and culture is the only side of the story, think again. There are many out there who seek the truth and you charlatans simply can't provide it. Keep the Chief and finish Crazy Horse as a tribute to great peoples not victims. Sleep Walking Bear is proud of his history and the land he calls home. The good, the bad and the ugly because that is what REAL people and REAL history are all about.
