Crazy Horse Memorial? for Justice!

Each year, I do a webinar series for anyone and donate funds to a different cause, charity, or non-profit.? Last year it was in honor of the anniversary of George Floyd’s murder.? This year feels different to me – and I picked Crazy Horse Memorial?.

It is always surprising to me how few people have heard of Crazy Horse.? Just a mile from Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, Crazy Horse Memorial??is being built without state or federal funding, through local and individual donations only.

Mount Rushmore now hosts four faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln and was declared finished in 1941.? Construction started in 1927 in the Black Hills which is a sacred space for the Lakota Sioux.? A treaty signed in 1868 declared that this land would belong to the Sioux Nation and in 1980, the US Supreme Court ruled that this land grab (motivated originally by gold) was unconstitutional and ordered that the Sioux be compensated with over 100 million dollars.? Because, this was always a matter about sacred land, the money is now in a trust and valued over a billion dollars.

In 1948, the sculpture began at Thunderhead Mountain to memorialize Crazy Horse with the intention of bridging the relations and ignorance between natives and non-natives in collaboration between Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear (Crazy Horse’s cousin) and sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski.

The?Mission of Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation?is to protect and preserve the culture, tradition and living heritage of the North American Indians. The Foundation demonstrates its commitment to this endeavor by following these objectives:

• Continuing the progress on the world’s largest sculptural undertaking by carving a Memorial of Lakota leader Crazy Horse;
• Providing educational and cultural programming to encourage harmony and reconciliation among all people and nations;
• Acting as a repository for Native American artifacts, arts and crafts through THE?INDIAN MUSEUM OF NORTH AMERICA? and THE NATIVE AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL AND?CULTURAL CENTER?;
• Establishing and operating THE INDIAN UNIVERSITY OF NORTH AMERICA?, and when practical, a medical training center for American Indians.

For? more information and pictures of the timeline – visit: https://crazyhorsememorial.org/story/pictorial-timeline/

When I was in South Dakota several years ago, I visited both and will be forever moved by the mission and life long labor to honor all natives.? This is the note I want to start of 2024 with – a moment of atonement, reflection, and multiple generations committed to justice.

FREE TO ANYONE – SPREAD THE WORD!? Scheming and dreaming up a great 2024!? Mark your calendars for Feb 5-16th 8am pacific, for a shape up/brush up webinar series!?Register here. I will be donating up to $2024 to Crazy Horse!