CRAZY HORSE MOUNTAIN

KORCZAK ZIOLKOWSKI SEEKS TO MAKE THE DREAM
OF HENRY STANDING BEAR, OF A MEMORIAL TO CRAZY
HORSE, OGLALA BAND, LAKOTA SIOUX CHIEFTAN,
COME TRUE. WHY WAS CRAZY HORSE CHOSEN?

Born in Rapid Valley, 40 miles E, about 1840, he early dreamed
of immunity from his enemies and trouble from his friends and
that was his life's pattern. Without political ambition he was
content to be a leader in the eternal warfare inherent in the life
of his people. He tenaciously clung to the sound military tactic
of fighting at a place and time of his choosing and, believing
that a dead Indian was a stupid Indian, minimized his own
casualty to inflict maximum damage on his enemies. His fights
against Fetterman in 1866, Crook at the Rosebud in early June
and Custer on June 25, 1876 were classic examples of his
tactical beliefs.
He signed no treaties, lived in the outlands, spurned the soft
living of Reservation life and was a rock of Independence from
the white man. At long last, yielding to the pressure of his erst-
while friends, he capitulated in April 1877. Jealously prompted
rivals to make false accusations; for he was a man who kept his
given word to fight no more against the whites. In September,
enticed into the Guardhouse at Ft. Robinson, while struggling
with a friend, Little Big Man, a guard stabbed him fatally in the
back. His death was an ignominious tragedy; his life an open
book. His life parallels the tragic history of his Red brethren.
One of many great and patriotic Indian heroes, his tenacity of
purpose, his modest life, his tragic end set him apart if not
above the others.

Erected 1956 by Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation
and State Highway Commission