Mount Rushmore was the brainchild of Gutzon Borglum a Danish-American artist and sculptor famous for creating the monumental Presidents' heads at Mount Rushmore. The President's are Abraham Lincoln, who has been credited for holding the country together during the Civil War and the abolition of slavery, Thomas Jefferson, one of the authors of the the Declaration of Independence. Theodore Roosevelt, a fiery individualist who embodied American culture of the early 1900's. George Washington, the first President who led the colonists in the American Revolutionary War of Independence from Great Britain.
The bust of Cutzon Borglum was sculpted by his son.
There are signs throughout the area of the Memorial saying not to feed the Chipmunks. For our Australian friends this is a Chipmunk. They are very small and very fast.
To get to Mount Rushmore we traveled through the famous Black Hills. If we go back to the Treaty of 1868, signed by the President of the USA it said, in effect: As long as rivers run and grass grows and trees bear leaves, Paha Sapa - the Black Hills of Dakota - will forever be the sacred land of the Sioux Indians.
Then through Keystone.
Then onto see Crazy Horse.
This is the model of how the Monument will finally look like on completion. The mission of the Crazy Horse Monument is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of North American Indians. The sculptor was Korczak Ziolkowski, (1908- 1982) a Polish - American. He was invited by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear to built the Crazy Horse Monument.
Crazy Horse was chosen as he defended his people and their way of life in the only manner he knew. After he saw the Treaty of 1868 broken, after he saw his leader, Conquering Bear, exterminated by treachery, saw the failure of the Government agents to bring required treaty guarantees, such as meat, clothing, tents and necessities for existence which they were to receive for having given up their lands. He saw his people's lives and their way of life ravaged and destroyed. He never lived on a Reservation and when asked by a white man "Where are your lands now?"he replied "My lands are where my dead lie buried". He was killed by a soldier while under a flag of Truce.
In 1891 Red Cloud, Lakota said "They made us many promises, more than I can remember - They never kept but one; they promised to take our land, and they took it !"
The Monument has no State or Federal funding and this is their choice so monies are raised through admission fees, donations and monies made from The Indian Museum of North America.
There are Native American performers and lots of crafts and artists.
We enjoyed lunch in Custer City.
Many of the cities we have visited in South Dakota have something significant to the area on every corner. Here in Custer it was the Buffalo.
Custer is an interesting and pretty town to visit.
Since leaving San Antonio on our RV maiden trip we have met such nice people and seen some incredible sites. We have eaten fantastic food and enjoyed every day of our RV adventure.
We are now on our way back to SAT and we are grateful for the the opportunity to be have have been able to enjoy the sights of this great nation.
Cheers, Beverley and Ross
