A “Year of Reconciliation” and the First Native Americans’ Day at Crazy Horse Memorial
“We can’t turn back the clock. We can only turn to the future together. What we can do as leaders, both Native American and white, is teach others that we can change attitudes.” These were the words of South Dakota Governor George S. Mickelson at the very first Native Americans’ Day, which was hosted by Crazy Horse Memorial on October 8th, 1990. The event was attended by more than 1,200 people.
Mickelson had attended the June 3rd, 1948, dedication of Crazy Horse Memorial as a boy with his father, who had also served as Governor of South Dakota. The younger Mickelson was most certainly impacted by the dedication as some forty-two years later, he would choose the Memorial as the site to host the first ever Native Americans’ Day celebration. Mickelson’s choice was informed by the fact that the Memorial began as the result of a friendship that developed between a Polish-American sculptor, Korczak Ziolkowski, and a Lakota Chieftain, Henry Standing Bear. This friendship and the legacy that it produced in the form of Crazy Horse Memorial continue to serve as an example of the potential for reconciliation between Natives and non-Natives. In many ways, the Memorial stands as a symbol – a reminder that the work of reconciliation is always in a state of becoming and that we must all continue to do our part in order to bridge the gaps that still plague Native and non-Native relations within the state of South Dakota and throughout North America.
South Dakota is the only state that celebrates Native Americans’ Day on what the state formerly recognized as “Columbus Day.” Elsewhere, the day continues to be observed as Columbus Day. In 1989, the South Dakota State Legislature approved the change proposed by Governor Mickelson, who declared 1990 as a “Year of Reconciliation” and called for the first Native Americans’ Day observance to be held at Crazy Horse Memorial. Significant is the fact that 1990 also marked the 100th anniversary of the Wounded Knee Massacre.
In essence, Native Americans’ day, which continues to be celebrated at Crazy Horse Memorial is about understanding that there is and has always been another side to American History. It was this side of the country’s history that Henry Standing Bear desired to have told and it was this side of the story that Korczak and Ruth Ziolkowski dedicated the better part of their lives to sharing with the world.
The Native Americans’ Day celebration at Crazy Horse each year includes naming the Crazy Horse Memorial Educator of the Year, honoring an individual who has made significant contributions to Native American education. The award includes a $1,000 grant to the recipient’s school library or to programs of his or her choice that help students.
In 2012, speaking about the concept of Native American Day, the late Ruth Ziolkowski commented, “Korczak would have loved it . . . because it shows how the cultures can share.”
This article is the twenty-fifth installment of a periodic chronology that will be published by the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation on the history of the Memorial.
By: Dr. Jason Murray for the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation