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Crazy Horse sets Native American Day celebration
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FarkCRAZY HORSE – South Dakota’s 18th annual Native American Day celebration at Crazy Horse Memorial will feature a traveling high-tech classroom and opportunities to experience native culture.
The South Dakota Legislature established the holiday in 1989. Crazy Horse, the private nonprofit memorial honoring all North American tribes, celebrates the day with educational and cultural events to encourage harmony and understanding between people and nations, a spokesman for the memorial said.
The memorial’s holiday offerings on Monday, Oct. 8, will include special hands-on activities for visitors. Memorial President-CEO Ruth Ziolkowski says she especially hopes educators will bring students to participate in a variety of youth-oriented projects.
The celebration will begin at 10 a.m. and feature speakers, Native American singers, dancers, artists and storytellers. The holiday observance includes a free buffalo-stew luncheon and, if weather permits, a traditional blast on the mountain.
Admission is free during the Native American Day program. A donation of three cans of food per person is suggested for the KOTA Area Care & Share Food Drive.
The day’s celebration concludes with the season finale of the laser-light show “Legends in Light,” which begins at dark.
America’s only roving classroom geared to help Lakota students improve their technology skills will again be showcased at Crazy Horse Memorial.
The Oct. 5-19 stop will be the only fall visit to the Black Hills area for the mobile facility. It’s called Starbase Project NOVA, short for “New Opportunities, Visions and Attitudes.”
Director Susie Garrett says NOVA aims to give students a new outlook by providing activities encouraging teamwork and student interest and ability in math, science and technology.
This is the second year Crazy Horse has hosted Project NOVA. There will be free public tours and special classes for Custer-area students during NOVA’s stay.
On Native American Day, Crazy Horse Memorial visitors will get to try Project NOVA’s computer gadgets, including simulators that mimic military aircraft controls.
The South Dakota Air & Army National Guard sponsors Project NOVA. It is part of the Department of Defense Starbase initiative to help minority and rural students.
Husband-and-wife teachers Dave and Colleen Jensen staff the mobile classroom. They will work with more than 1,000 fourth- through sixth-grade students at schools on five of the state’s nine Lakota tribal reservations this school year.
Also on Native American Day, Crazy Horse officials will name the fifth annual Crazy Horse Memorial Educator of the Year. The award honors an individual who has made significant contributions to Native American education at the primary or secondary school level.
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