Memorial Day usually kicks off the tourist season. So far the tourist attractions in South Dakota seem to be holding their own despite the spike in gasoline prices.
For those tourists feeling the pangs of patriotism, a visit to Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota should fill that void. It is truly one of the Seven Wonders of the World. One thing to keep in mind when visiting; many Native Americans see the faces on the Mountain in a diferent way. So if you look at those carvings through the eyes of Native Americans, you may see them as you have never seen them before.
For instance, Teddy Roosevelt spoke about how to take the remaining lands of the Indians by war. He said, "It is a primeval warfare and it is waged as war was waged in the ages of bronze and of iron. All the merciful humanity that even war has gained during the last two thousand years is lost. It is a warfare where no pity is shown to noncombatants."
Abraham Lincoln signed off on a horrible execution by hanging of 38 Dakota warriors. It was the largest mass hanging in the history of America. Thomas Jefferson, a slave holder, signed off on the Louisiana Purchase, thus stealing millions of acres of land from the many Indian nations living on that land. In the long run it caused suffering, death and poverty that is still felt in that region even to this day. George Washington ordered the military extermination of the Indian people of New England. He was also a slave holder.
Native activist Russell Means has labeled Mount Rushmore, The Shrine of Hypocrisy. He does not see the signors of the Declaration of Independence as his "Founding Fathers." Many Indians agree.
Another tourist attraction in the Black Hills, and keep in mind that those Hills are still claimed by the members of the Great Sioux Nation, is the Crazy Horse Memorial. Ruth Ziolkowski and her family have made it their life's work to complete the carving of the Lakota warrior Crazy Horse started by her husband Korczak 60 years ago. The Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people have cautiously watched them for all of those years. She and her family have done a wonderful job in continuing this project and they have provided a great place for Native artists and craftsmen and women to display their works during the peak tourist season.
They have provided job opportunities for Native Americans and over the years have earned my respect and admiration for their loyalty to the sculptor's dream. I suppose you can count me as a skeptic that has been won over. There are those Indians that have not.
I know the carving is not true to the face of Crazy Horse as are the carvings at Mount Rushmore. And that is one of its shortcomings. I have spoken to many Lakota over all of these years the carving has been in progress and together we have concluded that the mountain should be renamed The Native American Memorial.
Some say there was never a photo ever taken of Crazy Horse. This makes the carving a figment of the imagination of the sculptor. Again you should remember that Indians do have their own sense of history. There were many Lakota warriors that posed for a photo taken in the early 1940s who knew Crazy Horse. Black Elk was one and he wrote a letter dated 1904 that described his friend Crazy Horse and the image on the mountain is nowhere near that resemblence.
But that should not deter from the conception of the artist, but it does emphasize the concern of some that believe the carving should be considered as an image of all Native Americans.
If you are one of the tourists that will be visiting the Black Hills this summer walk for awhile in the mocassins of the Native Americans and mentally and spiritually, look at the beautiful monuments through their eyes.
Remember that there is one sign you will not see in the Black Hills. It is a sign buried deep in the hearts of the Lakota people. The sign reads, "The Black Hills are not for sale."