FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 2,1998
CONTACT: Christopher M. Changery
(202) 224-2251

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senate Indian Affairs Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) today introduced a resolution honoring the 50^th anniversary of the Crazy Horse Memorial and the efforts of the family constructing it.

June 3 will mark the 50^th anniversary of the first blast at Thunder Mountain in South Dakota. Korczak Ziolkowski began this task at the request of Sioux 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 continued by his widow and seven of their children. They have relied entirely on private donations, twice turning down $10 million in federal funds.

"Congress is beginning its annual process of writing a budget and appropriating funds," Campbell said. "I think we get so caught up in this process that we forget some people in this country accomplish great things without a single dollar from Washington.

"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."

When completed, the Crazy Horse Memorial 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 medical training center to be built at the base of the mountain.

"Crazy Horse is a permanent fixture in our history, as the man who led a force of Cheyenne and Oglala Sioux to victory over George Custer at the battle of Little Big Horn," Campbell said. "Thanks to the Ziolkowskis and their many benefactors, he will be a permanent fixture on our landscape as well."