4-1 Short Answer, Monuments as Cultural Works PDF

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4-1 Short Answer, Monuments as Cultural Works Assignment...

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11/19/2021 Hum 100 4-1 Short Answer: Monuments as Cultural Works

Crazy Horse Memorial The monument is meant to depict Tasunke Witko, best known as Crazy Horse, the Oglala Lakota warrior famous for his role in the defeat of Custer and his army at the Battle of the Little Bighorn and for fighting the American government's efforts to confine his people to reservations despite violence and starvation. He is cemented in history as a Native American war leader and fearless defender of Native American culture, territory, and life. Crazy Horse represents the freedom of the Native American spirit. Lakota leaders advocated for the carving of Crazy Horse to be in Paha Sapa - Black Hills as they believed that it was the only suitable location for such a memorial as it has spiritual significance to the Lakota people. They wanted it to create crosscultural understanding and mend relations between Natives and non-Natives. Collaborating with Polish American sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, the finished version would be the largest stone carving and show the warrior with long hair sitting on horseback. Originally thought to take 30 years to build, it’s now been over 70 years, and it’s not nearly finished. After Korczak’s death, members of the family have taken on the task of getting it completed. The family has been offered federal funding to help speed up and complete the project but have turned it down saying that it would compromise the site and they continue the work relying on fundraisers, donations and the income from the museum. It was reported in 2018 the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation brought in $12.5 million from admissions and donations and $77 million in net assets. This income does not include the income earned through Korczak’s

Heritage, Inc. This is a for-profit organization that runs the gift shop, the restaurant, the snack bar, and the bus to the sculpture. Some argue it has now become more of a business than a memorial, that they have turned it into a tourist attraction instead of the memorial that it was intended to be. The family claims that there are circumstances beyond their control that make it difficult and cause delays in its completion. There is no deadline, so they are able to take their time such as they say Korczak requested before his death. There are members of the Lakota tribe argue that believe this type of memorial is not what Crazy Horse would have wanted. He was a humble man and there are no pictures of him in existence and would never have wanted his image carved into such a sacred place. These grounds were what he was trying to defend and preserve. Reflecting on what I’ve learned about the memorial, I feel that the intentions of the artist’s family have taken a wrong turn of sorts and believe the original intentions behind the monument have not been honored. While I do believe at the time the intentions of this memorial and creating cultural acceptance had been the best, honoring this Native American hero in this way goes against the Lakota values.

References Jarvis, B. (2019, September 23). American Sphinx. The New Yorker, 95(28), 26....