Vacation to South Dakota

Day 2 - Custer and Crazy Horse

Today we went to Custer State Park and Crazy Horse Mountain, two sides of the same story.

Custer State Park is beautiful. We drove through on the scenic Needles Highway, stopped at a couple of lodges and gift shops, had dinner at the State Game Lodge. Dom had buffalo filet mignon and I had pheasant stuffed with lobster and spinach, smothered in a delicious coconut sauce

After dinner, went to see Guys and Dolls at the Black Hills Playhouse inside the park. The play was outstanding, with a castof actors from around the United States and Canada. Although they didn't quite live up to their claim to be "Broadway Quality at Blackhill Prices," that was mostly because the theater was not air conditioned and the music was pre-recorded as a digital soundtrack, as there is no room in the small theater for an orchestra.

In the afternoon we took a break and drove out of the park to visit Crazy Horse Mountain.

After Mount Rushmore was built, Lokota Chiefs, including Henry Standing Bear, asked Boston-born Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to create a sculpture of Crazy Horse to show that "the red man has heros, too."

The project was begun in 1947, when Korczak moved to the Black Hills and began working on his own, with no help whatsoever, to work on the sculpture. Over time, he was able to get help from his family and others, but it took until 1998 to finish carving the head of Crazy Horse. Korczak died in 1982, but his family is carrying on the project, funded completely by donations and entrance fees to the park and museum that has been created at the site. When it is finished, the statue will be the largest sculpture in the world. The four presidents of Mount Rushmore will fit inside the head of Crazy Horse.

A graphic from a national Native American newspaper tells at least one part of the story of Custer and Crazy Horse quite clearly.

Native Americans continue to lose their land. When will it stop?

You can learn more about both the United States Army General and the Lakota Sioux Chief from these sources:

• Into the West, a six-part mini-series from Steven Spielberg airing on TNT. This weekend the fifth episode is playing. I hope it repeats, but if not I'm sure it will be available on DVD before too long.

• Exploring with Custer: The 1874 Black Hills Expedition (Dakotas) by Ernest Grafe. I saw this book at a bookshop today. I didn't buy it, but I intend to get it from the library. It includes maps and a detailed reconstruction of Custer's route through the black hills.

• Crazy Horse: The Strange Man of the Oglalas by Mari Sandoz, an excellent book told in the voice of Crazy Horse. Having spent a lot of time with the Lakota when she was a child, Mari Sandoz captures the heart of this people and their great leader beautifully.