Crazy Horse Memorial, the famous monument in South Dakota dedicated to the Indian warrior Crazy Horse stands in the granite mountains of the Black Hills: it is the largest existing sculpture in the world started in 1948 by the sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski – of Polish origin, native of Boston – under the patronage of Chief Standing Bear. Korczak came to the Black Hills in 1947 at the invitation of the natives and began working at the memorial in his forties with only $174 in his wallet. A great supporter of free enterprise, he believed from the beginning that the great sculpture should remain educational and cultural, non-profit and humanitarian project paid for by the public interest and not by citizens’ taxes. He therefore rejected the offer of federal sponsorship of at least $10 million twice in a row. He involved the whole family in this mega-project again and the work is still followed by the children and grandchildren. It is now a dream that the Ziolkowski family does not want to abandon, following the models and plans of Korczak and the association program created and launched in 1978.
