[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 83 (Tuesday, May 20, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4427-S4428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  CARVING OF THE CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from further consideration and the Senate now 
proceed to S. Res. 496.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the 
resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 496) honoring the 60th anniversary of 
     the commencement of the carving of the Crazy Horse Memorial.

  The Senate proceeded to consider the resolution.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I wish to speak today about the Crazy 
Horse Memorial in South Dakota. On June 3, 2008, the Crazy Horse 
Memorial will celebrate the 60th anniversary of its dedication. Gutzon 
Borglum, who was the sculptor behind Mount Rushmore, brought Korczak 
Ziolkowski to South Dakota to work on Mount Rushmore. It was during 
construction of Mount Rushmore when Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear 
contacted Korczak Ziolkowski and stated ``My fellow chiefs and I would 
like the white man to know the red man has great heroes, too.'' It is 
believed that this statement led Mr. Ziolkowski to construct this 
memorial.
  On June 3, 1948, this memorial was dedicated and construction has 
continued ever since. Mr. Ziolkowski worked on this memorial until the 
conclusion of his own life in 1982, when his wife, Ruth, took up the 
job that her husband began. The Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation was 
established and runs entirely on gifts and donations. No government 
funds have ever been used for construction of this memorial. With no 
way to predict when completion of this memorial will take place due to 
cost and weather, construction continues. When it is completed, 
however, it will be the largest carving on earth, measuring some 641 
feet long by 563 feet high. To put that in perspective, it is said that 
all four heads on Mount Rushmore could fit into Crazy Horse's head.
  Today, I wish to honor Korczak Ziolkowski, his wife, and their family 
for their continued work on this monument. In addition, I would like to 
honor those involved with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. Most 
importantly, I wish to honor the memory of the great Lakota warrior to 
whom this memorial is dedicated, Crazy Horse, as well as all Lakota 
people for their great many contributions to our history and culture in 
South Dakota. It is they that this memorial is to honor.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider 
be laid upon the table.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 496) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
   The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 496

       Whereas sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who never received any 
     formal art training but nonetheless won 1st place for 
     sculpture at the New York World's Fair in 1939, came to the 
     Black Hills of South Dakota as an assistant to Gutzon Borglum 
     to help carve Mount Rushmore;
       Whereas Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear contacted Korczak 
     Ziolkowski in 1939 to encourage him to create another 
     mountain memorial, saying in his letter of invitation: ``My 
     fellow chiefs and I would like the white man to know the red 
     man has great heroes, too'';
       Whereas Crazy Horse was remembered by his people as a 
     fierce warrior and visionary leader who was committed to 
     preserving the traditional Lakota way of life;
       Whereas Korczak Ziolkowski was inspired to honor the 
     culture, tradition, and living heritage of North American 
     Indians, and thus designed a metaphoric tribute to the spirit 
     of Crazy Horse and his people;
       Whereas Korczak Ziolkowski was dedicated as well to helping 
     his country preserve freedom, enlisted in the Army, and was 
     wounded in 1944 at Omaha Beach;
       Whereas Korczak Ziolkowski returned to South Dakota after 
     World War II in order to find a suitable mountain to carve in 
     order to honor Crazy Horse and his people;
       Whereas Korczak Ziolkowski and Chief Standing Bear 
     dedicated the Crazy Horse Memorial on June 3, 1948;
       Whereas Korczak Ziolkowski worked until his death in 1982, 
     and his wife, Ruth, and their family have dedicated their 
     lives to carving the mountain and continuing the mission of 
     the Crazy Horse Memorial;
       Whereas there is no way to predict when the mountain 
     carving will be completed, owing to the uncertainty of 
     weather, the availability of private funding, and the 
     challenges of mountain engineering;
       Whereas, when completed, the Crazy Horse mountain carving 
     will be the largest carving in the world, at 641 feet long by 
     563 feet high;
       Whereas Korczak Ziolkowski's parting words to his wife 
     were, ``You must work on the mountain--but go slowly so you 
     do it right'';
       Whereas the Ziolkowski family and the Crazy Horse Memorial 
     Foundation have continued to do it right, have proceeded 
     without government financial support, and remain dedicated to 
     making steady progress on the Memorial's humanitarian goals; 
     and
       Whereas the Crazy Horse Memorial will celebrate the 60th 
     anniversary of the dedication of the mountain carving on June 
     3, 2008: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate, on the 60th anniversary of the 
     commencement of the mountain carving of the Crazy Horse 
     Memorial, honors sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, the Ziolkowski 
     family, and the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation for their 
     dedication to honoring the culture, tradition, and living 
     heritage of North American Indians and the spirit of Crazy 
     Horse and his people.

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the resolution that was adopted by the 
Senate is S. Res. 496, which I introduced on April 2, 2008, along with 
my colleague from South Dakota, Senator Tim Johnson. The resolution 
honors the 60th anniversary of the Crazy Horse Memorial.
  The Crazy Horse Memorial, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, 
honors the culture, the tradition, and the living heritage of Native 
Americans. Once completed, the memorial will stand more than 22 stories 
high and be the largest mountain sculpture in the world. Every year, 
there is an event called the Volksmarch, in which people start at the 
base and walk up to the very top of the monument. You cannot appreciate 
the size and the dimension of this great monument from

[[Page S4428]]

a distance. It is only when you get up close that the true dimensions 
of this monument come into full view. I have had that opportunity on 
the Volksmarch, with my family, to walk up and stand next to this 
monument and to have an appreciation for its true dimension and for 
what it means to my State of South Dakota and to the Native American 
culture.
  The sculptor of this monument, Korczak Ziolkowski, had no formal 
training and originally came to South Dakota to assist Gutzon Borglum 
in the carving of Mount Rushmore. In 1939, Chief Henry Standing Bear 
invited him to construct another mountain monument, this one to honor a 
great Native American hero. However, it was not until June 3, in 1948, 
that the project was officially dedicated.
  Crazy Horse, a great Lakota chief, was selected as the Native 
American hero worthy of the mountain monument because of his courage in 
battle, his visionary leadership, and his commitment to the 
preservation of the traditional Lakota way of life. The memorial was 
placed in the Black Hills of South Dakota because they are sacred to 
the Lakota people. While Crazy Horse was never photographed, the 
completed monument will feature a likeness of him riding a horse and 
pointing with his left hand out toward the Black Hills.
  Ziolkowski, who worked tirelessly and without salary on the Crazy 
Horse Memorial until his death in 1982, believed in individual 
initiative and private enterprise and worked to build the memorial 
without any Federal funding. As my colleagues can see from the photo we 
have here, the face of Crazy Horse is complete, the rest of the 
mountain has been roughly blocked out, and efforts are currently 
focused on carving the horse's head.
  While there is no way to predict the date of completion because of 
weather, financing, and the challenges of carving a mountain, 
Ziolkowski's wife Ruth, who is an amazingly determined woman, and his 
family, along with the help of thousands of donors and visitors, 
continues Ziolkowski's mission of honoring Native Americans through the 
construction of this monument.
  Therefore, today I rise to honor the 60th anniversary of the Crazy 
Horse Memorial and send my best wishes to all those working to make 
Korczak Ziolkowski's vision a reality.
  I thank the Senate for its adoption of the resolution, and I yield 
the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Republican whip is recognized.

                          ____________________