National Park After Dark

Episode 328: The Dark History of Mount Rushmore National Monument
October 13, 2025 | Hosted by Danielle and Cassie

Overview

In this compelling and deeply researched episode, Danielle and Cassie dive into the layered, often troubling history of Mount Rushmore National Monument, highlighting its origins, the violence and broken treaties that made the monument possible, and its lasting significance for Indigenous peoples—particularly the Lakota. Tied to the contemporary shift from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, the hosts critically examine what and who monuments like Mount Rushmore choose to honor, what narratives are omitted, and the ongoing fight for truthful representation and restitution. They juxtapose Mount Rushmore’s national mythology with the powerful, still-unfinished Crazy Horse Memorial, ultimately urging listeners to confront uncomfortable histories as a means toward justice.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Monuments and Collective Memory

• The Power of Public Monuments: The episode opens with Cassie reflecting on how public monuments shape cultural memory—not just what happened, but what a nation chooses to valorize ([00:02]).
• Recent Statue Removals: The hosts bring up the recent removals of statues of J. Marion Sims, Theodore Roosevelt, and Christopher Columbus as evidence of a changing tide in public memory and demands for accountability ([00:02]).

The Symbolism of Mount Rushmore

• A “Patriotic Symbol” in Schoolbooks: Both hosts recall how, growing up, Mount Rushmore was presented as a proud, patriotic emblem, with little or nothing said of its darker context ([04:32], [07:01]).
• Mount Rushmore’s Omissions: The actual history, particularly regarding Indigenous dispossession and the monument’s creation, was largely omitted from their education ([04:32], [07:59]).

Columbus Day and Re-examining History ([05:54]—[09:37])

• Columbus Day’s Origins and True Legacy: Cassie gives a concise account of Columbus’s violence towards Indigenous peoples, including enslavement, sexual violence, and the spread of deadly diseases ([07:59]).
• The Shift to Indigenous Peoples Day: This legacy, Cassie argues, is why many now use the day to honor Indigenous communities and question why history is so selectively memorialized ([09:17]).

The Creation of Mount Rushmore ([11:47]—[21:32])

• Initial Vision: South Dakota historian Don Robinson originally wanted to carve a broader cast of Western figures—including Native leaders—into the Black Hills ([11:47]).
• Sculptor Gutzon Borglum’s Influence: Borglum, who had ties to the Ku Klux Klan and previously worked on the Confederate Memorial at Stone Mountain, shifted the monument’s purpose to celebrate “the story of America itself”—centering four presidents ([12:33], [13:29]).
  • Notable Quote – Cassie ([13:29]):
    “The person he reached out to, Borglum, was not the right person to bring this vision to life because he had ties to the KKK and had no interest in honoring Indigenous communities.”
• Naming the Mountain: The mountain had a sacred Lakota name, Tȟuŋkášila Šákpe (Six Grandfathers), but it was renamed after a passing white lawyer, an act the hosts call disrespectful and dismissive ([15:57]).
  • Notable Quote – Cassie ([15:57]):
    “In reality, it’s not true. This mountain was not unnamed. It was and is a sacred mountain to the Lakota people.”
• Selecting the Presidents: The four presidents—Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Lincoln—were chosen to symbolize founding, expansion, development, and preservation (i.e., Manifest Destiny) ([18:15]).
• Construction: Began in 1927, ended in 1941; details of the dangerous labor, cost, and subsequent transformation into a major tourist site are noted ([20:01], [21:32]).

The Theft of the Black Hills ([22:00]—[36:32])

• Treaty Violations and Broken Promises: The Black Hills were guaranteed to the Sioux Nation under the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie (“as long as the grass shall grow and the rivers flow”), only for gold to bring a federal land grab and violence ([24:17], [21:32]).
• The Great Sioux War: The U.S. Army’s campaign included scorched earth tactics and the systematic extermination of bison to starve Indigenous peoples ([25:52], [29:50]).
  • Cassie reflects on the iconic image of bison skulls as evidence of this deliberate policy ([29:50]).
• Crazy Horse’s Resistance: An in-depth, moving recounting of Crazy Horse’s leadership, spiritual depth, and resistance, ultimately culminating in his betrayal and murder by the US military in 1877 ([36:35]); after this, the Black Hills were formally seized and the possibility of return extinguished.

The Creation and Significance of the Crazy Horse Memorial ([38:30]—[44:57])

• A Monument for the “Red Man”: In the late 1930s, Chief Henry Standing Bear invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve Crazy Horse into Thunder Mountain—on the condition that it use no government money ([38:30]).
  • Notable Quote – Standing Bear via Cassie ([38:30]):
    “The white man has his heroes carved in the Black Hills. The red man should have his, too.”
• Persistence, Scale, and Symbolism: Work on the memorial began in 1948. Unlike Mount Rushmore, the faces of the presidents, Crazy Horse’s memorial would depict him pointing to the lands where his ancestors lie buried. The monument’s creation is uniquely community-driven, and it includes a major educational and cultural center ([38:30], [44:13]).
  • Notable Detail: The funds offered by the government for the monument have been consistently refused ([44:13], [58:48]).
• Ongoing Impact: The Crazy Horse project is unfinished, a living project, and yet it has become a powerful, defiant symbol for the Lakota and all Indigenous peoples, preserving both story and spirit.

Continuing Legal and Moral Battles ([44:41]—[46:00])

• U.S. Supreme Court Recognition: In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled the Black Hills were taken illegally, awarding the Sioux Nation $106 million—refused by the Lakota, as “the Black Hills were never for sale.” The money remains untouched and has grown to over a billion dollars ([44:41]).
• Moral Contrasts: The side-by-side existence of Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse reveals, as Cassie notes,
  “On one mountain, four presidents gaze out over land taken in their names. On another, a Lakota warrior points towards that same land as if reminding the world whose story came first.” ([44:41])
• Commemoration vs. Glorification: The hosts discuss the view among many Lakota that Mount Rushmore might better serve as a site of memorial mourning—more akin to Holocaust remembrance—than a patriotic celebration ([44:41]).

Present-Day Advocacy and Truth-Telling ([46:00]—[61:00])

• Save Our Signs Initiative: The hosts endorse this activist archivist project to document threatened historical signage in national parks, especially as recent executive orders threaten to erase “negative” aspects of U.S. history ([47:41]).
  • Notable Quote – Cassie ([49:17]):
    “History is so important… just because something is ugly, just because something is sad and bad, doesn’t mean that it should not be remembered.”
• Ongoing Disparities in Interpretation and Education: Both recount their recent visit to both monuments, noting how Mount Rushmore all but omits Indigenous history, while Crazy Horse offers immersive, honest, and impactful education and experience ([53:37]–[57:44]).
  • Notable Quote – Co-host ([54:09]):
    “The sculptor and the process… it did not say on the signs had ties to the KKK.”
  • Notable Quote – Cassie ([57:27]):
    “You could feel how meaningful and special that this place was. In comparison, Mount Rushmore felt really oppressive there. It felt like it was lacking information.”
• Visitation and Awareness: Mount Rushmore receives about 2 million annual visitors; Crazy Horse, half that, despite being close by. The hosts urge listeners to visit both to gain a holistic sense of the land’s history ([56:27]).

The Future of Mount Rushmore ([61:36]—[65:26])

• What Should Be Done?: The hosts weigh possible futures—leaving it unchanged, re-contextualizing it as a site of mourning and education, returning land or decision-making authority to the Lakota, or even renaming it to the Six Grandfathers. Both agree that these are choices for the Lakota and other affected Indigenous communities ([63:09], [64:07]).
  • Notable Quote – Cassie ([63:44]):
    “Maybe we should change the name of Mount Rushmore back to its original. I mean, it’s very widely acknowledged as the Six Grandfathers.”
  • Notable Quote – Co-host ([62:11]):
    “It’s important that [Mount Rushmore] exists, but it’s important for us to know why it’s there and how it became what it is today in its entirety.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Changing Narratives:
  “The stories once carved in bronze and stone are being re-examined, their meanings rewritten. And now the conversation leads us to one of the most controversial monuments of all, carved not in a city square, but deep into sacred Lakota land itself. Mount Rushmore.”
  — Cassie ([00:02])

• On the Original Name:
  “This mountain was not unnamed. It was and is a sacred mountain to the Lakota people.”
  — Cassie ([15:57])

• On the Crazy Horse Memorial’s Refusal of Federal Funding:
  “That’s not the point. And I think in a world where money talks and is the loudest in the room and kind of overshadows and is just the deciding factor in so many aspects of life, to see that over generations … it’s just such a like, absolutely not. This is our thing and we’re going to do it our way. And respectfully, no, thank you.”
  — Co-host ([58:48])

• On Indigenous Justice and Unaddressed Wrongs:
  “The settlement now sits in a government trust accruing interest that has grown into more than a billion dollars… For the Lakota, the issue is not wealth. It is justice. For them, you cannot sell the heart of their world.”
  — Cassie ([44:41])

• On Critical Thinking and Re-examining History:
  “Encourage yourself to learn more about something, about anything. It doesn’t even have to be necessarily just this. But if you’re seeing some part of history that you’re interested in, don’t take it for what someone’s telling you it is. Do the research. Find out yourself.”
  — Cassie ([61:38])

Important Timestamps

• 00:02 – 02:24: Opening reflections on monument controversies, transition to Mount Rushmore.
• 05:54 – 09:37: Columbus Day and “the victors’ version” of history.
• 11:47 – 21:32: Origins of Mount Rushmore, naming, presidents chosen, construction.
• 22:00 – 36:32: The theft of the Black Hills, the Great Sioux War, legacy of Crazy Horse.
• 38:30 – 44:41: Creation of Crazy Horse Memorial, symbolism, and ongoing construction.
• 44:41 – 46:00: Supreme Court decision, Lakota refusal of compensation, ongoing legal/moral contest.
• 47:41 – 49:17: Advocacy (Save Our Signs), the battle to preserve honest history in NPS sites.
• 53:37 – 57:44: Personal experiences visiting both monuments, differences in historical interpretation.
• 61:36 – 65:26: Reflections on the future of Mount Rushmore, critical thinking, and honoring full history.

Tone & Final Reflections

The hosts maintain a tone of care, reverence, and candor, balancing the emotional weight of injustice with calls to action and the possibility of change. They stress the need for critical thinking, humility in the face of complex histories, and a commitment to honoring not just the winners’ stories, but those who resisted erasure.

“It’s important that [Mount Rushmore] exists, but it’s important for us to know why it’s there and how it became what it is today in its entirety.”
— Co-host ([62:11])

Both encourage listeners to deepen their education, visit both monuments if possible, support Indigenous-directed projects like the Crazy Horse Memorial, and to support preservation initiatives so that all American stories—including the darkest ones—can be told and learned from.

For more information about Save Our Signs, Crazy Horse Memorial, and ways to support Indigenous histories in national parks, see episode notes.