I captured the feature image above as we approached the Black Hills from the east. In my view, it perfectly represents why the Lakota Sioux called them the Pahá Sápa. The Pahá Sápa were considered sacred by native plains tribes, because they had for centuries provided tribes a place to pray and sustained them with food, building resources, and medicine. Thus, there is a substantial Native American back story which must be shared before one can fully understand and appreciate the Black Hills in general and Mount Rushmore specifically.
As white settlers, with their self-serving sovereignty, moved progressively westward, clashes with native tribes were inevitable. In 1863, European’s had blazed the Bozeman Trail, a shortcut from the Oregon Trail in eastern Wyoming to the gold rush areas of southern Montana. Three US Army Forts were built along the trail to protect native Crow, who had sided with the US government, and the 3,500 miners and settlers who had trekked west. Red Cloud, Crazy Horse, and several other native leaders began periodic, tactical skirmishes against the forts from 1866 to 1868 in what became known as Red Cloud’s War. The Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1868 brought victory to Red Cloud and his allies. The trail and the forts were closed; and the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho alliance was granted exclusive legal ownership of Montana’s Powder River Country, the Black Hills specifically, and the western half of South Dakota. But peace on what was called the Great Sioux Reservation wasn’t sustainable.
The Crow, who originally occupied the land which comprised the new reservation, grew increasingly angry with the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho migration onto the new reservation, having considered them intruders and trespassers as far back as 1851. Crow Chief Blackfoot petitioned the US Goverment to take action against the illegal interlopers. The Custer Expedition was sent to explore the Black Hills in 1874, and this action alarmed the Crow. Shortly thereafter, gold was discovered in the Black hills, and despite efforts to keep non-native miners and settlers out, migration numbers grew in violation of the Treaty of Fort Laramie. Consequently, the US Government sought ownership of Black Hills land, being pressured by the discovery of gold and the pending Northern Pacific railroad route, which crossed native owned lands and the only remaining buffalo hunting grounds. But Chief Red Cloud and allies refused to relinquish ownership.
The government couldn’t effectively honor its commitments in the Fort Laramie Treaty, and Native Americans and migrants skirmished over treaty violations. President Ulysses S. Grant, on the advice of his cabinet, senior Army Generals, and the Office of Indian Affairs, required US Indian Agents notify all Lakota and Sioux to return to the reservation by 31 January 1876 or face military action. While Lakota and Cheyenne councils considered the notification, the deadline passed without compliance. The Army commenced a winter campaign, which was the beginning of The Great Sioux War of 1876-77.
The details of the war are quite complicated; but in an overly simplified summary, it consisted of three major battles, two campaigns, and four peace missions. On June 17, 1876, three Army columns converged on buffalo hunting grounds in eastern Montana and faced off against Sioux and Cheyenne warriors in the Battle of the Rosebud. By all historic accounts, the battle was considered a draw. Only eight days later, the 7th Cavalry led by Lt Col George Armstrong Custer encountered a large native village while scouting along the Rosebud and Big Horn River valleys. Custer split his forces in preparation for a fight. Five cavalry columns (270 soldiers), including Custer, were annihilated in the now famous Battle of the Little Bighorn. The 5th Cavalry subsequently rescued Army survivors of this battle, but being low on provisions, they marched south toward Deadwood, SD for resupply. On September 9, 1876, an advanced column of the 5th stumbled upon a small native village called Slim Buttes. They attacked and looted the village in the Battle of Slim Buttes. Hearing of the encounter, Crazy Horse led a counter attack against the 5th, but he was repulsed.
Because of Custer’s defeat, the government increased military forces at the native agencies, impounded local native horses and weapons, imprisoned Red Cloud and Red Leaf for a period, and passed a law which extinguished all Lakota rights outside the Great Sioux Reservation. Additionally, Congress placed a rider on the Indian Appropriations Act, which when enacted in August 1876, cut off all rations to the Sioux until they stopped fighting and unilaterally ceded the Black Hills to the government. At this point, Lakota and Cheyenne combatants were clearly losing the diplomatic war.
In what was called MacKensie’s Campaign, Colonel Ranald S. Mackensie and his 4th Cavalry went on an expedition to the Powder River area in search of northern native villages. On November 25, 1876, they attacked and defeated a village of Northern Cheyenne in Wyoming Territory. The Northern Cheyenne surrendered after the Mackensie column destroyed their lodges and supplies and confiscated all horses. They agreed after conducting a tribal council, to relocate to the Southern Cheyenne reservation in Oklahoma only to find inadequate rations, disease, and empty hunting grounds (buffalo by then had been killed to near extinction). About the same time in what was named Miles’ Campaign, Colonel Nelson A. Miles and his 5th Infantry established a cantonment on the Tongue River, and from there conducted battles throughout the winter of 1876-77. His troops fought against Crazy Horse and other native bands at the Battle of Wolf Mountain. In subsequent months, his troops fought the Natives at Spring Creek, Ash Creek, and Clear Creek ultimately forcing many Lakota and Northern Cheyenne tribes to either surrender or move to Canada.
Four peace missions took place in the early months of 1877: George Sword, Spotted Tail, Johnny Brughier, and Red Cloud. Each mission resulted in Native council decisions to surrender and return to reservation lands. While bands of hostile native combatants remained, the war was effectively over, and the US Government had illegally seized ownership of the Black Hills without Native American consent.
Native litigation over ownership of the property began in 1923 and continues today. During the most recent 1980 case, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Sioux stating in part, “the taking of property that was set aside for the use of the tribe required compensation.” That compensation included the value of the land when taken in 1877, which was $17.1 million, the value of gold prospectors illegally took out of the land computed at $450,000, and 100 years’ worth of interest at 5% per annum, amounting to an additional $88 million. However, the Lakota Sioux declined to accept the money, believing it would legally end their demand for return of the Black Hills to Native sovereignty. Nonetheless, the awarded money remains in a Bureau of Indian Affairs account while accruing compound interest. The award was valued in 2021 at between $1.2 and $1.57 billion. Lakota Sioux leaders formed the Black Hills Steering Committee, a polical group consisting of members from each tribe, all of whom continue to demand legislation for the reestablishment of Lakota Sioux sovereignty over the Black Hills territory (approximately 7.3 million acres). Interesting and thought provoking but nonetheless sad.
Our primary purpose for camping in the Black Hills was to see the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. MFI has been to many places in the U.S. and around the world, but she hadn’t seen Mount Rushmore. I was there in the mid 70’s while on temporary duty to Ellsworth AFB in Rapid City, SD, but only remember viewing the monument through high-powered binoculars. Significant changes were made in the last 50 years, exclusively for the benefit of tourists. Yet even Rushmore Mountain had a back story worth telling.
The Lakota Sioux called the mountain Thunjkášila Šákpe (Six Grandfathers). For them, it symbolized ancestral Lakota deities personified by the six directions: north, south, east, west, above (sky), and below (earth). In 1885 during the illegal US ownership of the Black Hills, a New York City attorney named Charles E. Rushmore was sent by Harney Peak Tin Mining Company to check legal titles on properties in the area. How the mountain came to bear his last name is subject to contradictory historic accounts. But one such account was that upon returning to their camp, Charles asked Bill Challis (a local prospector and guide) what the name of the mountain was. Bill answered, “Never had a name, but from now on we’ll call it Rushmore.” Since this story sounds dodgey, the known related facts are these. In 1925, George Rushmore donated $5,000 (equivalent to $77,258 in 2021) towards Gutzon Borland’s (more on him later) sculpture on Rushmore. The memorial was dedicated by President Coolidge on August 10, 1927. The U.S. Board of Geographic Names didn’t officially recognize the name until 1930. Thus, the total truth remains elusive.
On our first morning in the Black Hills, I hiked a popular trail, which included sections of Blackberry and Horse Thief Lake Trails. The trail head for Blackberry was conveniently across the roadway from the entrance to Mount Rushmore. MFI dropped me off, then picked me up later near Horse Thief Lake. The hike was moderately difficult but extremely enjoyable.
We spent the better part of the rest of our day touring the National Memorial. The weather was perfect. I took a lot of pictures. While most were likely the same as those taken by a million other visitors, I did try to capture images from different angles or perspectives when possible. We hiked the Memorial Loop Trail, which circles the large amphitheater at the base of the mountain. This 1-mile trail was said to be often used by the sculptor for assessing progress.
But wait a second, how did this project ever get started? Brace yourself for yet more history.
Doane Robinson, Secretary of the South Dakota Historical Society, first conceived the idea for a “Grand Sculpture” project after learning about Georgia’s Stone Mountain “Shrine of the Confederacy.“ He wanted a simialr project to stimulate tourism to the state. He initially suggested the location be the tall eroded granite pillars and towers of The Needles, a popular nearby tourist attraction in what is Custer State Park today. He envisioned the granite formations be sculpted into full-height versions of Lakota Chiefs Red Cloud and Crazy Horse, Lewis & Clark, Sacagawea, Buffalo Bill Cody, and other famous period people. Needing a sculptor, Robinson first contacted Lorado Taft, but Taft was too ill. He then contacted Gutzon Borglum, who was working on Stone Mountain. Borglum visited and assessed The Needles but advised against this location because the granite was too soft, and there was substantial opposition by the Lakota and state environmentalists.
On his second visit, Borglum surveyed Mount Rushmore and declared this as the project location because the granite was superior. He also took issue with Robinson’s proposed scope, arguing that the project should have broader national appeal. Subsequently, his suggestions were accepted. Next, Robinson acquired the support of US Senator Peter Norbek and Congressman William Williams of South Dakota, who in 1925 introduced bills to use federal lands for the project. These were enacted easily. Similar state legislation had less support and only passed narrowly on its third attempt on March 25, 1925. Borglum left the Stone Mountain project and subsequently began his work during 1927 as private funding became available. Supporters gained added leverage by getting President Coolidge to dedicate the future site in August 1927 and promise federal funding. Coolidge signed the Mount Rushmore Memorial Act of 1929, which authorized $250,000 in matching funds for the project.
A building called the Sculptor’s Cottage was an interesting stop near the end of the Memorial Loop Trail. We arrived in time to hear a 15-minute presentation by one of the Rangers, and were able to see a significant number of black and white photos, which depicted much of the 14-year sculpting history of the project. Borglum made nine design proposals before approval was finally received. He created a one sixth scale model of the project, and enlarged measurements from it were transferred to the work on the mountain. Even as submitted proposals remained in question, work began on Washington and Jefferson, with Jefferson originally being viewed on Washington’s left. Unfortunately, the granite there was too soft, so Jefferson was moved to Washington’s right. In addition to the four presidents being sculpted from the waist up, a tablet shaped like the Louisiana Purchase was to be carved to right of Lincoln. It was to display important dates and text recounting events representative of the journey of our democracy. Hence, the project was called the “Shrine of Democracy.” However, the tablet was scrubbed because of insufficient funding.
Gutzon Borglum and 400 workers consisting of sculptors, demolition experts, and laborers created the 60-foot-high carvings of the four presidents between October 4, 1927, and October 31, 1941. Borglum selected these presidents because of the role they played in creating this nation, expanding its territory, and preserving its future. Dynamite was used in carving the memorial, followed by the process of “honeycombing,” whereby workers drilled holes close together. These holes allowed small pieces to be removed by hand tools and give the smooth appearance. A total of about 410,000 tons of rock were removed from the mountain (refer to scree piles in photos above).
Before work on the memorial ended, Borglum died of an embolism in March 1941. His son, Lincoln Borglum, continued oversight of the project, but insufficient funding forced the carving to end. Thus, the memorial remains incomplete, because the figures were not carved from head to waist in accordance with the approved design. Below is a picture of the bust of Gutzon as sculpted by his son Lincoln. The bust sits outside the Lincoln Borglum Visitors Center at the memorial.
One of the more interesting and unknown facts about the memorial is that Gutzon’s intended plan included carving a memorial hall into the granite of a small valley behind Lincoln. The hall was extremely large, and it was intended that visitors be able to enter it after climbing a granite staircase 400 feet up the mountain. Gutzon feared that visitors in the distant future would be clueless about who and what the four presidents represented. Therefore, the museum would provide, in his words, “…the literal record of the conception of our republic, its successful creation, the record of its westward movement to the Pacific, its presidents, how the memorial was built, and, frankly, why.” Gutzon first publicly referred to a Hall of Records in 1936 during dedication of Jefferson’s sculpture before an audience, which included FDR. Work began on the Hall two years later on July 13, 1938. Borglum stopped work on the Hall after spending $16,000 and working only one year. World War II was looming, and supportors argued it would be best not to risk completing the presidents for want of a partially completed Hall.
Before his death at age 74 on March 6, 1941, Gutzon’s vision for the Hall had grown increasingly elaborate despite the absence of any additional work or support. However, the dream of completing the Hall remained alive in Lincoln Gutzon and his younger sister, Mary Ellis Borglum Vhay. Mary Ellis, at age 70 in 1980, found support for the Hall in Rushmore Superintendent Dan Wenk. He believed a small part of the $56 million raised privately by the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society for redeveloping visitors’ facilities could go toward a Hall of Records. Stipulations were that no federal funds could be used, the location of the 1938-39 tunnel excavation would be used, and the scope would be reduced. Mary Ellis chaired a newly formed Hall of Records Committee, which focussed on the records to be enshrined in a tunnel floor chamber, 26 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 4 feet deep. An engineeering firm from Rapid City carved the floor chamber, while the National Park Service led the writing and preparation of the records to go inside. Those records were etched onto 16 durable, porcelain enamel panels, and placed in a box constructed of Teakwood because of its resistance to rot. The chamber was lined with titanium and a granite capstone was placed atop the sealed chamber. The records vault and contents cost about $250,000 and were dedicated before 119 people, including three generations of the Borglum family, on August 9, 1998. The text of the documents listed below are on the panels:
- “Mount Rushmore National Memorial” – explanation of why the memorial was created.
- Brief history of George Washington – explanation of his contribution to creating the country.
- Complete text of “The United States Constitution.”
- Brief history of Thomas Jefferson – explanation of his contribution to creating and expanding the country.
- Complete text of “The Declaration of Independence.”
- Brief history of Abraham Lincoln – explanation of his contribution to preserving the countries future.
- Complete text of “The Gettysburg Address.”
- Brief history of Theodore Roosevelt – explanation of his contribution to creating and expanding the country.
- Explanation of “The Work Involved to Create the Figures.”
- “Mount Rushmore Sculptor Gutzon Borglum” – description of the sculptor and his vision.
- “The Meaning of Mount Rushmore.”
A visit to the Black Hills would not be complete without seeing the on-going creation of the Crazy Horse sculpture. We drove 17 miles southwest to see the memorial. Unknowingly, we asked the guard at the entrance whether our National Park Pass got us in free or at a discount. The guard’s response was very clear. This was a privately funded memorial being built and maintained without any federal funding. This made perfect sense to us after our research into what was done by settlers, miners, foresters and the Army to relocate Native Americans off their land (specifically the Black Hills) and place them onto reservations. How could the U.S. government be trusted, and therefore, have anything to do with this massive project?
A Lakota elder named Henry Standing Bear learned of artist Korczak Ziolkowski when he won a sculpting prize at the New York World’s Fair. Standing Bear wrote a letter in 1939 to Ziolkowski, a self-taught Polish-American artist and sculptor who had worked briefly on Mount Rushmore. In the letter, he expressed a desire for a Native American response to Mount Rushmore via a memorial that demonstrated “… the red man had great heroes, too.” Ziolkowski was definitely interested, and in 1947, he moved to South Dakota and acquired land through purchases and swaps. In 1948, he dedicated the memorial with an elaborate inaugural celebration, exclaiming, “I want to right a little bit of the wrong that they did to these people”. Thus began a lifelong project focussed exclusively on completing what is the largest sculpting project ever attempted. When finished, the sculpture will be 563′ tall and 641′ long. This equates to the height of a 60-story building and the lenghth of an ocean-going cruise ship.
But the project was so much more that the sculpture from the beginning. The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation was established in 1948. Its mission is “To protect and preserve the culture, traditions, and living heritage of the North American Indians.” The foundation is achieing its mission by completing the sculpture; providing educational and cultural programming to encourage harmony and reconciliation among all peoples and nations; acting as a repository for Native American artifacts, art, and crafts; and establishing and operating The Indian University of North America, and when practical, operating a medical training center for Native Americans.
Until his death at age 74, Ziolkowski with his 2nd wife Ruth and ten children dedicated themselves to the Crazy Horse sculpture, as well as, creating an educational and living heritage experience. They created a cross-generational-family interest, which continues today. Many of his descendants have either worked on the sculpture or the tourism business that has grown up around it. Over a million visitors come annually to see the memorial, but also to tour the museum facilities. Those facilities include: three museums, a movie theater with orientation film, a gift shop, a restaurant, and veranda for various scheduled cultural events. Our admission was $30 for a vehicle of two, and this gave us admission to the film and each of the museums. The museums are The Indian Museum of North America, The Native American Educational and Cultural Center, and The Mountain Carving Gallery. We strolled through all three in several hours.
I took several pictures of the memorial after we parked. We were still a mile or so from the mountain.
The museums contained so much history, photos, and artifacts; we simply couldn’t cover it comprehensively in several hours, nor photograph what we did cover and include it all in this blog. But several things worth sharing here did catch my eye.
The first was the collection of 72 paintings of all the Native survivors of The Battle of the Little Bighorn. The paintings were done by American artist, author, and film advisor, David Humphreys Miller, over a decade beginning in 1935. I was fascinated by the scale of what he did with these works and grateful for what the contribution must mean to Native American history and the memorial. The paintings were arrayed on a single wall, and each had a description as shown below. Miller visited the Pine Ridge Reservation when he was 16, and with the help of a translator, he interviewed the Bighorn living survivors. Those interviews were the only non-white man descriptions of what happened, and thus played a critical role in later historic accounts of the famous battle. During his rich life, Miller learned 14 native languages, was adopted by 16 separate Native families, and was given the title Chief Iron White Man by Black Elk in honor of the Oglala Sioux medicine man he painted (shown below).
The second item of interest, and our favorite piece of art from the Carving Gallery, was this dancing Native maiden. Unfortunately, I failed to photograph the name and date of the artist, as well as, the medium used; but I believe it was paper. Zoom in on the details and see how intricate this creation is.
At some point during our visit, MFI discovered we were only 100 miles from Wounded Knee, SD. We decided to go check it out. Both of us were shocked at worst and disappointed at best over the poor condition of this historically significant site. Wounded Knee, consisting of an 870-acre area, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965. In 1966, along with all other National Historic Landmarks, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as Wounded Knee Battle. The listing includes one contributing site (the acreage mentioned above) and one contributing object, the 1903 monument erected in the cemetery, honoring the 20 Native soldiers killed. What I later found interesting were the 14 non-contributing buildings and 12 non-contributing sites also on the listing, but none of which include the prominent, roadside billboard-sized explanation and description of what happened at Wounded Knee. So as tourists, we arrived at the billboard, but saw no, zero, zip, nada further explanation of this National Historic Landmark. I mentally compared this to our superb experience at Appomattox Court House, but there was no comparison at all. In my opinion, the mistreatment of this Historic Landmark has paralleled the US mistreatment of Native Americans.
As we read the billboard, a Native American approached us and asked if he could answer questions or provide any explanation about the massacre. He introduced himself as Patrick (white man name) and pointed to a table of handicrafts where his wife, Roberta, was sitting. I asked Patrick what Native Americans preferred to be called. He explained that Sioux is considered a derogatory term because it means snake. He went further saying, “And we are not Indians… no dots!” as he emphatically poked his forehead. All three of us chuckled nervously at his remark. He said the term Native American was preferred. He was a soft, calm speaker for a man of his large size. He grew up in Wounded knee and pointed in the direction of where his grandmother still lived without running water. She hikes to the creek daily for her water needs. I saw a cemetery on a hill only several hundred yards away, and he said that it was an active cemetery, it contained the graves of the Natives killed in the massacre, and we were welcome to go there.
We visited the cemetery, walked through the rows of graves, and found the American translation of the names of those buried both interesting and sometimes comical. On the interesting side for me, was the number of buried who had served in America’s wars from WW I to the various Middle East incursions. The funniest translation of a headstone was the engraving, “Ann T. (Shot) Respects Nothing.” I can only bet the backstory of that family name would be worth hearing.
The ribbons tied on the fence are a remembrance offering for those buried. Leaving an offering of tobacco is said to be an honor to both the living and the dead.
Unknown to either of us was the fact that our drive to see Wounded Knee took us through the eastern and western parts of the Badlands National Park. The change in scenery upon entering the badlands was shockingly spectacular, although also austere in terms of being unarable or capable of providing useful resources. The badlands are clearly not very habitable, which of course was in part the reason for establishing the Pine Ridge Reservation in this part of South Dakota. Take the Black Hills but force Native Americans onto reservations, where living remains a challenge.
Upon our return to Keystone, we were driving north through the reservation when we suddenly crossed a western portion of the Badlands National Park. We came up over a hill and both exclaimed “wow” in amazement at the badlands scar exposed before us. These pictures and video (apologies for the noisy wind) can’t adequately reflect the incredible and dramatic change in scenery that occurred.
One final thing to share from the Black Hills. Once a week at the Mount Rushmore amphitheater, there is a ceremony, which includes turning the floodlights on to light up the four presidents. We attended this event. The National Park Service Rangers take turns at making a personal presentation to the gathered audience. Ours was given by a delightful female Ranger. After her, all active duty, retired, and those-who’ve-served military members were invited to the stage. There was ample patriotic music and some kind words, which essentially thanked all for their service. At this point, the floodlights were turned on and lit up the presidents. There was a tall flagpole stage-right. Volunteers from the on-stage crowd were called together, and they performed retreat with the lowering and folding of the flag. This was a fitting conclusion to our Black Hills experience. We recommend it as a bucket list item for anyone.
