“Crazy Horse Mountain”

1 ½ Miles

KORZAK ZIOLKOWSKI SEEKS TO MAKE THE DREAM OF HENRY STANDING BEAR, OF A MEMORIAL TO CRAZY HORSE, OGLALA BAND, LAKOTA SIOUX CHIEFTAN, COME TRUE. WHY WAS CRAZY HORSE CHOSEN?

“Born in Rapid Valley, 40 miles E, about 1840, he early dreamed of immunity from his enemies and trouble from his friends and that was his life’s pattern. Without political ambition he was content to be a leader in the eternal warefare inherent in the life of his people. He tenaciously clung to the sound military tactic of fighting at a place and time of his choosing and, believing that a dead Indian was a stupid Indian, minimized his own casualty to inflict maximum damage on his enemies. His fights against Fetterman in 1866, Crook at the Rosebud in early June and Custer on June 25, 1876 were classic examples of his tactical beliefs.

He signed no treaties, lived in the outlands, spurned the soft living of Reservation life and was a rock of independence from the white man. At long last, yielding to the pressure of his erstwhile friends, he capitulated in April 1877. Jealousy prompted rivals to make false accusations; for he was a man who kept his given word to fight no more against the whites. In September, enticed into the Guardhouse at Ft. Robinson, while struggling with a friend, Little Big Man, a guard stabbed him fatally in the back. His death was an ignominious tragedy; his life an open book.

His life parallels the tragic history of his Red brethren. One of many great and patriotic Indian heroes, his tenacity of purpose, his modest life, his tragic end, set him apart if not above the others.

Custer County, Highway 16 Custer (1988)