[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 41 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3158-S3159]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SENATE RESOLUTION 206--RELATIVE TO THE CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL

  Mr. CAMPBELL submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Indian Affairs:

                              S. Res. 206

       To recognize 50 years of efforts with respect to the 
     creation of the Crazy Horse Memorial, honoring the great 
     Oglala Sioux leader, Tasunke Witko, popularly known as 
     ``Crazy Horse'', and to express the Sense of the Senate with 
     respect to the Crazy Horse Memorial.
       Whereas Tasunke Witko, popularly known as ``Crazy Horse'', 
     was one of the greatest Native American warriors and 
     spiritual leaders of the United States;

[[Page S3159]]

       Whereas Crazy Horse fought to defend the rights and lives 
     of the Sioux Indians and all Native Americans;
       Whereas Crazy Horse is best known for leading a force of 
     Cheyenne and Oglala Sioux warriors to victory over George 
     Armstrong Custer in the Battle of Little Big Horn;
       Whereas in 1940, several Sioux Indian chiefs invited the 
     late sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, to create a memorial to 
     their great leader, Crazy Horse, by carving a tribute to 
     Crazy Horse into the Black Hills in South Dakota on a 
     mountain popularly known as ``Thunderhead Mountain'';
       Whereas on June 3, 1948, the Crazy Horse Memorial was 
     dedicated, which is the date on which the first blast was 
     made to shape the memorial on Thunderhead Mountain;
       Whereas at the time of that dedication, Korczak Ziolkowski 
     vowed that the Crazy Horse Memorial would be a nonprofit 
     educational and cultural project that would be financed 
     solely through private, nongovernmental sources;
       Whereas Korczak Ziolkowski dedicated his life to the 
     creation of the Crazy Horse Memorial and continued that work 
     through his death on October 20, 1982; and
       Whereas once complete, the Crazy Horse Memorial, with a 
     height of 563 feet and length of 641 feet, will be the 
     largest sculpture in the world: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) the Senate recognizes--
       (A) that June 3, 1998, commemorates the 50th anniversary of 
     the blast on the mountain known as Thunderhead Mountain in 
     the Black Hills of South Dakota that constituted the first 
     step made toward the completion of the Crazy Horse Memorial;
       (B) the admirable efforts of the late Korczak Ziolkowski, 
     the sculptor responsible for the design and techniques 
     involved in the creation of the Crazy Horse Memorial; and
       (C) that the creation of the Crazy Horse Memorial, from its 
     inception, has been accomplished through private donations 
     and without any Federal funding; and
       (2) it is the sense of the Senate that the Crazy Horse 
     Memorial will constitute a tribute to--
       (A) Tasunke Witko, a great Oglala Sioux warrior and 
     spiritual leader; and
       (B) all Native Americans.

  Mr. Campbell. Mr. President, Congress is beginning its annual process 
of writing a budget and appropriating funds. This is important work and 
gets a great deal of media coverage and public scrutiny. But I think we 
tend to get so caught up in this process that we forget some people in 
this country accomplish great things without a single dollar from 
Washington.
  One shining example is the Crazy Horse Memorial. The Ziolkowski 
family has worked for 50 years carving the image of the Oglala Sioux 
leader and his horse out of Thunder Mountain in South Dakota. They have 
relied entirely on private donations, twice turning down $10 million in 
federal funds.
  Today I am submitting a resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary 
of the memorial and the efforts of the Ziolkowski family.
  Crazy Hourse is a permanent fixture in our history as the man who led 
a force of Cheyenne and Oglala Sioux to victory over George Armstrong 
Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn. thanks to the Ziolkowskis and 
their many benefactors, he will become a permanent fixture on our 
landscape as well.
  Korczak Ziolkowski began this task at the request of Sioux Indian 
Chief Henry Standing Bear, who said ``My fellow chiefs and I would like 
the white man to know the red man has great heroes too.'' Though 
Korczak passed away in 1982, the work is continue by his widow, Ruth, 
and seven of their children. The ambition behind this project is 
breathtaking. When complete, it will be the largest sculpture in the 
world. All four of the heads on Mount Rushmore could fit inside Crazy 
Horse's head. Future plans call for a university and a medical training 
center to be built at the base of the mountain.
  Mr. President, this resolution is about more than the dedication of 
the Ziolkowski family or the legacy of a great Indian leader. It honors 
the spirit of hard work and independence that make America the country 
it is. It honors all people who have followed a dream. I urge my 
colleagues to assist in its passage in time for the memorial's 50th 
anniversary on June 3, 1998.

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