Largest Sculpture in the World

Crazy Horse

(Photos By: Clive Moss)

Started in 1948 by Korczak Ziolkowski, the sculpture of the Crazy Horse Memorial began production by Hill City, South Dakota which is around 27km away from the infamous Mount Rushmore Memorial. The monument is being sculpted out of Thunderhead Mountain which is considered sacred land by some Ogala Lakota Aboriginals. Upon completion crazy horse is to be the largest sculpture ever, standing at 563ft high and will have a width of 641ft. With the creation of such a giant project it takes time and the monuments completion date is not expected for decades. Unfortunately the monument is created using private funding only which puts a damper on the progress. When finished the monument will depict Crazy Horse on horse back pointing to the land of his deceased ancestors.

With Crazy Horse being such a hot topic, the monument can always be seen with controversy. To get a real sense of the man behind the sculpture one must first look at Crazy Horse.  He was born around the time of the 1840's and in no time, he made a reputation for himself. Since the 1860's he was fighting the oppression of the white man and he was continually attempting to gain the old way of life for his clan. Known as a fierce and valued warrior Crazy Horse always fought for the good of his people and thus was a perfect candidate for his likeness to be carved into a mountain. Although many feel that this sculpture is a respectful memento of the events that occurred on the land, some from the Lokota tribe don't feel as if the monument production was discussed with them before hand. Regardless of these minor blemishes on the memory, the monument is not only a beautiful addition to the South Dakota skyline but it can help teach about the history and culture that once existed.