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Should there be a "Crazy Horse" commemorative coin?
RogerB
Posts: 8,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
Should a commemorative dollar be issued honoring the under-construction Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota?
We have coins for Mt. Rushmore and Stone Mountain - neither of which will ever be completed.
[Photo: https://honormonument.org/2013/01/07/the-crazy-horse-memorial-colossal-and-controversial/]
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The Crazy Horse Memorial is privately held.
If it was a National Memorial like Mount Rushmore, it would have it's own coin.
Stone Mountain is owned by the State of Georgia. Are coins still made for state parks?
I would buy one. I really like the Stone Mountain commem.
Insert witicism here. [ xxx ]
Not only that, but the last time I was around there, they had built berms by the road, so you can't view the monument "free".
So, no. It's a private money producing venture.
It's recognized as a private, money producing venture by some Lakota who have said it's a disrespectful monument. From Wikipedia:
Elaine Quiver, a descendant of one of Crazy Horse's aunts,[21] said in 2003 that the elder Standing Bear should not have independently petitioned Ziolkowski to create the memorial, because Lakota culture dictates consensus from family members for such a decision, which was not obtained before the first rock was dynamited in 1948.[22] She said:
Seth Big Crow, whose great-grandmother was an aunt of Crazy Horse's, said he wondered about the millions of dollars which the Ziolkowski family had collected from the visitor center and shops associated with the memorial, and "the amount of money being generated by his ancestor's name". He said:
Other traditional Lakota oppose the memorial. In his 1972 autobiography, John Fire Lame Deer, a Lakota medicine man, said: "The whole idea of making a beautiful wild mountain into a statue of him is a pollution of the landscape. It is against the spirit of Crazy Horse."[23] In a 2001 interview, Lakota activist Russell Means said: "Imagine going to the holy land in Israel, whether you're a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, and start carving up the mountain of Zion. It's an insult to our entire being."[24]
I basically agree with this. I like Crazy Horse. Have been there 30+ years apart and was impressed by the progress, but it has become very commercialized. Perhaps after it is finished.
Didn't they hit a fault in the rock that prevented work from going forward? (Sort of like the original Jefferson on Mount Rushmore.)
I could be wrong. I haven't been on that side of the Black Hills in ages.
Other traditional Lakota oppose the memorial. In his 1972 autobiography, John Fire Lame Deer, a Lakota medicine man, said: "The whole idea of making a beautiful wild mountain into a statue of him is a pollution of the landscape. It is against the spirit of Crazy Horse."[23] In a 2001 interview, Lakota activist Russell Means said. "Imagine going to the holy land in Israel, whether you're a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim, and start carving up the mountain of Zion. It's an insult to our entire being."[24]
**Good Point.
I was there in 2000 and as I recall it was just basically the face like in the OP photo.
Any recent photos of the site?
The family appears to have had the blessing and encouragement of Crazy Horse's cousin, who was a Chief at the time.
Now, about that Zion idea....how about a big Nike logo or an Amazon smirk?
I was up in S. Dakota in 2014, summertime, not much progression has been made, but it would be HUGE if/when it gets complete.
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I was there in 1990. It is very cool!
That's when I was there, on the way home from the ANA in Chicago, and there was a lot of progress since my previous visit in the 1980's.
Seems like the Black Hills Treaty Council authorized the Free Lakota Bank to issue Crazy Horse silver coins since 2008. They have a denomination quantity, e.g. 50, but don't say "Dollars". Even though Indian Nations exist within the US, I'm not sure they can issue they own currency, similar to how territories of the US like CNMI cannot issue their own coins. The reverse of the coins say "Currency of the Free and Independent Nation."
Free Lakota Bank
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The Native American people now have a bit more sovereignty than years ago - see casinos. It is also possible that you can buy tobacco and liquor without excise taxes on tribal lands. However most tribes are fairly stringent on alcohol sales because of rampant alcoholism. Some tribes even have their own passports and drivers licenses and even license plates in Oklahoma.
These Lakota banking activities are somewhat suspect with regards to their loan practices and interest rates charged - but since they are operating on tribal lands they are somewhat out of the realm of US courts.
I seriously doubt that 'monument' will ever be finished..... The concept is amazing and would certainly be a significant artistic achievement. Cheers, RickO
No
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