Crazy Horse - Never Forget Your Dreams

(Credit: Wallace family, 1981)

About 35 years ago, my parents packed up the family and headed for the hills—the hills of South Dakota to be exact. The trip seemed to take forever and as majestic as the Badlands and Mount Rushmore were, one thing stuck in my mind—I didn't see an Indian chief on a horse at that other mountain a few miles down the road from Mt. Rushmore. I have had a fascination with the Crazy Horse memorial ever since.

(Credit: Wallace family, 1981)

We actually stopped by the memorial that day where I was able to stand behind a small sculpture and visualize what Chief Henry Standing Bear, on behalf of his fellow chiefs, and Korczak Ziolkowski, the self-taught Polish-American sculptor, envisioned when the project was proposed in 1939.

[Click here to see a pictorial timeline of the project.]

Fast forward to the early 2000s when my husband and I returned to the area. As fascinated as I am with the Crazy Horse memorial, we didn't stop by the memorial this trip. I could see from afar that not a lot had changed. A face was clearly visible, but that was about it, no horse, no outstretched arm. Deduction tells me, I probably won't be alive to see project completion. Neither did Chief Henry Standing Bear (the chiefs' lead) who died in 1953 or Kozczak who died in 1982; or did they? I believe each man completed his part of the project.

Chief Henry Standing Bear and his fellow chiefs had a dream and commissioned Korczak for the job. Did they know more about Korczak than he had won first prize at the New York World's Fair?  The chief's inquiry letter seems like he took a chance on Korczak. Like the passing of the Olympic torch, Korczak took the first leg of the project—maybe the most important leg.

"Tell me, Mister, How can I ask you to believe that I can carve that mountain if I don't believe in myself first? Of course I'm egotistical! I believe I can do it! I know I can do it! All my life I've wanted to do something so much greater than I could ever possibly be."

Korczak created something so much greater than he could ever possibly be; he knew he would never accomplish the mission by himself. In fact, he and his wife Ruth would write three books as a map to completion. They created a living legacy. Korczak did what every good leader should do—he provided vision, an example, and a path to follow, with or without him. He completed his part of the mission.

Watch CBS This Morning's video from 2016. 

 
(CBS This Morning, October 22, 2016)

There are so many ways I can go with this blog, but I am going to end it right here and lead you into the challenges.

Wildland Fire Leadership Challenge - Digging a Little Deeper

• Conduct a little research on the Crazy Horse memorial. 
• Visit on Crazy Horse memorial website.
• Why was the memorial proposed?
• What is the Crazy Horse project? Why is the mountain the smallest part of the project?
• How can one man with a jackhammer, sculpt a mountain?
• From the video, did Korczak exhibit command presence?
• What did Korczak accomplish? 
• What were the "costs" of Korczak's passion?
• What were the benefits of Korczak's commitment?
• Are you providing what your team needs to carry on in the event of your departure?
• What legacy would you like to leave?
• Consider hosting/attending a Battle of Little Bighorn staff ride.

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Pam McDonald is a writer/editor for BLM Wildland Fire Training and Workforce Development and member of the NWCG Leadership Subcommittee. The expressions are those of the author.