Sunni Begay (dark blue) and Dion Tapahe (yellow) of the Jingle Dress Project dance at Mount Rushmore. They were invited by Red Dawn Foster, a state senator representing the Pine Ridge area, to perform the ceremonial dance to bring healing to the Black Hills. Photograph: Benjamin Rasmussen/The Guardian

THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND
South Dakota

The battle for Mount Rushmore: ‘It should be turned into something like the Holocaust Museum’

 

The national memorial draws nearly 3 million visitors a year – and Native Americans want the site back with a focus on oppression

Annette McGivney
Sat 3 Jul 2021 10.15 BST

Mount Rushmore national memorial draws nearly 3 million visitors a year to its remote location in South Dakota. They travel from all corners of the globe just to lay their eyes on what the National Park Service calls America’s “shrine of democracy”.

Phil Two Eagle is not opposed to the fact that the giant sculpture of American presidents is a major tourist attraction but he thinks the park should have a different focus: oppression.