Black Hills History

Today was the first time I saw Mount Rushmore. Upon seeing it, I was moved almost to tears thinking of what it stands for in this great country. George Washington. Abraham Lincoln. Thomas Jefferson. Teddy Roosevelt? Once again proving the old adage, it's not what you know, it's who you know. Seeing Roosevelt up there makes a person scratch their sunburn scalp. (OUCH!) But when you read and listen to the history of this monument, the reason Teddy is up there is because his buddy, Gutzon Borglum, was the artist who made the monument. By the way, I wasn't really moved to tears. I think man made government is corrupt, and the history of this monument is no different. It was funny to me that in a speech a park spokesman gave on the monument, and on the plaques that are peppered throughout the park, they speak of the controversy that was involved with getting this monument made, but political controversy. They gloss over the fact that this whole area, which was "given" to the Lakota Indians by the U.S. government, was taken back from them once gold was discovered in the Black Hills. How, by the way, do you give something to someone that owned it in the first place. That is like me coming to your house, taking everything in it, and then coming back a few years later and giving you a house full of your own belonging. But I digress, they also gloss over the fact that this area was sacred to the Lakota tribe, and that they did not want to see their mountain turned into the faces of the men that allowed them to be pushed from their land. What a slap in the face. I don't believe in all the "spirits" mumbo-jumbo that the American Indians believe are associated with the Black Hills and surrounding areas, but I am also not one to gloss over the fact that the American Indians got hosed. But it is easy to look at this beautiful countryside and understand why the Europeans that came here coveted this land so much. The wildlife, the deep green of the grassy rolling hills, the mountain-like formations that surround the area. It's a beautiful place. Now, is worth living here? Well, I have run into two separate people from California and asked them both what the winters are like. The first one said that it wasn't that bad. When it snows it usually is warm enough that it will melt off within a few days. She also said it doesn't get terribly cold. She would recommend living here to anyone. The second family that ate dinner next to us, the father of the clan didn't paint such a rosy picture. He said winters here are miserable. Last winter it hit 30 degrees below zero. That's not wind chill, that is actual temperature. He said they could take a glass of water outside, throw the water up in the air, and it would be ice before it hit the ground. Now that is cold! He said the snow may melt after a few days, but then it's usually back in the single digits before too long. Needless to say, this California couple is looking to move to Florida before the next winter hits. I am going to go with what the gentleman had to say about South Dakota winter. So, in summation, Indian's got the shaft, and not a place to be in winter.