Ashley Jones
Crazy Horse Memorial by Korczak Ziolkowski and Chief Henry Standing Bear
1. Describe the monument selected.
The Crazy Horse Memorial is a piece of work created by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, after being
commissioned by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear, that is being carved into the hills of the Black Hills
Mountain located in South Dakota and is still being carved to this day but was started in 1948 and was
created to pay homage to Lakota leader Crazy Horse (Tasunke Witco).
2. Explain the original intentions behind the monument
selected and how later interpretations changed the meaning
and cultural understandings.
The original intention behind the work was to create a memorial to American Indians and their
long suffrage at the hands of the US government but others had argued that it was not a good
representation of how crazy horse carried himself. The mountain today is considered sacred,
because the Black Hills are known to the Lakota as He Sapa or Paha Sapa which translate to
“The Heart of Everything That Is” in US English.
3.
Reflect on what you learned in the Resources section articles and
compare your own interpretation or understanding of the monument
selected with the intent of authors whose interpretations you chose to
evaluate.
As for my interpretations that is my understanding of the artist’s intent was that Ziolkowski was
trying to create a memorial to honor the native Americans to help show his allegiance with them
also to show that “the red man has hero’s too!” I believe the material he chose was not a
desirable choice, but I think I can understand what his end goal and vision was leading him to.
The intentions were to show support to the Native Americans and the reminder of the suffrage
they endured and still endure to this day are still very apparent.
