Day 6 - The beauty of South Dakota

One who says cowboy, says Indian too. The area where we are now (Wyoming - South Dakota) is part of the Great Plains, where many famous battles between Native Americans and the US Army have taken place. Me and my sister were real doll players. But I also remember moments, especially when someone came to play or birthday parties, that we played cowboy and Indian. With colorful feathers tucked in our hair, a tomahawk in our hand and expertly placed stripes on our face, we went after the cowboys. The Indians always won J. But, unfortunately, this was not real life. The Americans wanted the country for themselves and forced the Native Americans to small reserves. Of course, this did not happen without a struggle. The treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851, signed by US delegates and representatives of, among others, the nations Cheyenne, Sioux (Lakota, Dakota), Crows and Shoshone, confirmed the Native Americans reserves and guaranteed a free passage for the settlers. On June 25, 1876, a big battle took place in Little Bighorn, between one one side the Native Americans tribes of Sioux and Cheyenne headed by chief Sitting Bull and, on the other hand, the US Army. The reason was the abandonment of the reserves by the Native Americans to further fight the American army. One of the units deployed by the US Army was the Seventh Cavalry led by General Custer, a distinguished commander of the American Civil War. Custer saw the Native Americans camp and saw a group of about 40 warriors. To prevent them from informing the camp, he attacked, ignoring a command of his superiors. He divided his group into three: one group had to prevent the Native Americans reaching the camp, a second group would attack the warriors and then attack the camp with the third group. But the Native Americans had about three times as many warriors as Custer, so it was a big tactical mistake to divide his unit, given that he was in the minority. Because the Native Americans made a circular movement, Custer was surrounded. He and most of his men were killed. It is one of the few battles won by the Native Americans.

One of the holy places of the so-called Plain Native Americans, Bear Lodge, is mistakenly translated into English as Devil's Tower. About 50 million years ago, melted magma was shot into the sedimentary rock above it. As soon as the magma cooled, it crumbled and broke into columns. Millions of years of erosion of the upper rock, brought Devil's Tower as a monolith to the surface. He is 386 m in height. 

We take a walk around the base, which takes up to an hour. We are  fascinated by the mountaineers who are climing the monolith. You have to be crazy to climb this steep tower. But I'm not happy in the least. This is a holy place for the Native Americans and is to be treated with respect. The Native Americans themselves are not so happy either. There is no ban on climbing, neither will it ever come. Only during the religious Sundance ceremony is it advisable not to climb but there is no real ban. It says enough about the authority that the Native Americans have about their land. The monolith had a prominent role in the Steven Spielberg movie ‘Close Encounter of the Third Kind’.

In West Dakota, the Black Hills are located, so named by the Lakota, because from a distance it seems black through the dense tree growth. The Black Elk Top is the highest peak with  2,208 m.

The Native Americans have a long history in the Black Hills. After they expelled the Cheyenne in 1776, the Lakota dominated the territory. It took a central place in their culture. In 1868, the US authorities signed the Fort Laramie treaty of 1868. The treaty appointed a Sioux reserve and banned white settlements in the Black Hills. But gold was discovered in 1874 by the Custer Black Hills Expedition. Gold miners flooded the area in the gold rush. But it had even more serious consequences. The government took back the Black Hills back from the Sioux and in 1889 the Lakota were assigned against their will in five smaller reserves. The Sioux have in the meantime been awarded damages in court but they refuse to accept it. They just want to return to their land. During the gold rush, thousands of gold diggers came to the Black Hills. In 1880 this was the most densely populated area of ​​Dakota. Three major cities were formed with smaller gold search camps. Railways were constructed. One of these railway lines still serves as a tourist attraction after thorough renovation. We ride this afternoon an hour on the so-called 1880 train from Keystone to Hill City. The ancient steam train drives through the dense vegetation of the Black Hills. On the way we see some remains of the gold rush.

In the Black Hills there is also a mountain the Sioux call the ‘Six Grandfathers’. For them, the mountain and the surrounding area have an important spiritual meaning. During a US expedition in the area, the mountain was named after Charles Rushmore, an important lawyer from New York.

To stimulate South Dakota's tourism and economy, in 1923 Doane Robinson came up with the idea of ​​sculpting a number of large images in the Black Hills. He thought of images of famous wild west characters such as Buffalo Bill and Red Cloud. He approached Gutzon Borglum, an important sculptor. He then sought contact with senator Peter Norbeck. The latter was enthusiastic but thought that funding would be easier to get if the monument had a more national character. Initially, a few pointed mountains in the north were picked out to realize the project. But these did not appear to be of good quality. A more convenient location was found in Mount Rushmore where the rock was more manupilable. This obvisouly created a lot of reaction, because it was considered not done to mess with these mountains, which were perfectly created by the gods. In addition, the Native Americans once again lost a sacred place.

Borglum chose four US presidents who represented the first 130 years of the US. His first choice was George Washington, the founding father of the United States. He stands symbol for the birth of the nation. He also chose Thomas Jefferson. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, he expanded the territory of the USA. He is a symbol of growth. With Theodore Roosevelt he chose for the further development of the country. He was the man of the Panama channel and defended the little man. Finally, he chose Abraham Lincoln to represent America's preservation. He made sure that the US did not break up after the Civil War.

In 1927 the work began. Borglum received aid from 400 workers (mainly sculptors and mountaineers). They used dynamite, drills and chisels. Miraculously enough, there was no dead to regret. In 1934 the first image was finished, that of George Washington. The last image, that of Teddy Roosevelt, was finalized in 1939. 

It was originally intended to sculpt the full bust of the four presidents, but due to time pressure and lack of money, only faces remained. Only George Washington has that tad more. The images are impressive in sight, but also in detail. George Washington is obviously prominently present. But also the detail (mustache and glasses) of Teddy Roosevelt is very successful. If I may have one critisism, Abraham Lincoln's chin comes out a bit too small. But still, this is an unbelievable project. Borglum died just before the whole site was ready. He can be proud of his work. A true artist. I think the four presidents look down on Mount Rushmore with a smile on their face.