Unchecked Ambition - a photo on Flickriver

Unchecked Ambition

            Henry Standing Bear, Chief of the Lakota in 1939, commissioned Korczak Ziolkowski to design and build a monument to the legendary Ogalala Lakota war leader and chief, Crazy Horse.

Ziolkowski was an accomplished sculptor and artist who was hired by Gutzon Borglum to assist on the Mount Rushmore Memorial.  Unfortunately, he and the primary assistant on that project - Lincoln Borglum (Gutzon's son), were unable to work together and ZIolkowski was eventually fired.

The Lakota were unhappy about the use of tribal lands to build a monument to the Great American Presidents - white men, and Henry Standing Bear wanted to ensure that white Americans would know that Native Americans had "great heroes, too."  This sculpture is massive, and when completed will be the largest in the world - though when that will be is anyone's guess.  Ziolkowski and his family were adamant in their refusal to accept government funding and rely strictly on donations to fund their work.

As it stands today, Crazy Horse's head is so large that all four heads on Mount Rushmore fit in it.  A memorial this size is inevitably surrounded in controversy - the descendants of Crazy Horse think it's a desecration of tribal burial grounds and contrary to Native beliefs on their relationship with the land; the project is nowhere near finished and will most likely keep going beyond the next generation of the Ziolkowski family.  In any case, the ambition and dedication shown by Korczak Ziolkowski and his family in sculpting this monument is as impressive to me as the product in the making.

Taken in: United States / South Dakota / Custer (show map)

Taken on: July 1, 2014

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