Lt. Cmdr. John Herrington is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and an astronaut with NASA. He is schedule to become a member of the shuttle crew in 1999. The Crazy Horse Foundation presented an annual $1,000 scholarship in Lt. Cmdr. Herrington’s name at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

I want to extend my sincere thanks to Ruth and her family for everything they have done to carry out this dream that was inspired fifty years ago.

The enormity of the project that they have taken on, pictures and stories just cannot convey what the mountain behind us can tell the world.

It is an honor for me to be here, both as a Native American and as an astronaut from the Johnson Space Center. You dedication and perseverance to make this monument is inspiring. When I talk to kids I like to tell kids to be inspired. What you’ve done is a symbol for the entire nation to see.

When I came through twenty years ago while on academic sabbatical, I like to call it, my first year out of college I worked for a survey crew working in Iowa on a highway. We drove back through the Black Hills and I distinctly remember coming up (highway) 244 then to Mt. Rushmore then on (highway) 16 coming in front of the monument and looking up and trying to imagine what it would look like one day. And trying to imagine how long it would take and in what manner it would take shape. I never imagined I would have the opportunity twenty years later to come back here and participate in the fiftieth celebration of this monument.

It’s amazing how much, in a short period of time like that, your life could change and things can change quite dramatically.

As an astronaut I have a tremendous responsibility and obligation to carry the vision of NASA both to the United States and to the world. Part of that job is to speak to kids and to tell kids that their dreams can come true, and that there are so many things they can accomplish if they just put their heart and soul into it.

And when I see what Ruth and her family have done here with their heart and soul behind this monument, dreams do come true. It’s an enjoyable opportunity for me to talk to kids and to see their faces light up, and to see them get inspired, because when you talk about space, that is one thing that inspires all of us; what’s out there and what lies in the future.

My wife and I, Debbie, have two children. I have a seven year old and three year old. When I look at my kids I see a future in their eyes and I want to inspire them. When I look up this mountain I think we can all be inspired by the work and dedication that’s gone into it over the fifty years since it was started.

The story that Korczak wanted to tell is the story of the American Indian. What you see behind you is only a chapter in the story, but it’s a very important chapter. It’s a story the nation needs to remember. The story of the American Indian. The story that needs to be told and it’s one we can’t forget, should not forget.

The story of Crazy Horse is one of a true American hero. Because he lived the ideal that we in this nation hold dear. His love and devotion to his people, his dedication and determination to protect their freedom and their way of life, and he put the goodwill of his people before his own. He was a very modest and unassuming individual and as a war chief was revered by and was a true hero to his people. But more important than that he is a hero to all Americans. I think it’s this nation’s responsibility to hold him up as an example of what a real hero is to the children of the United States.

Because without heroes children can’t be inspired, and the opportunity for them to have heroes and to see them as American history hasn’t really done well for them, It’s inspiring to show the kids.

NASA’s job is to inspire, to inspire through space and expand the boundaries of space and to improve the quality of life on earth.

Having this monument is an inspiration. At fourteen I have found a quote and it kind of ties the story of this mountain to the man. The quote is from Luther Standing Bear. He once said that the American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region of the forests, the plains, Pueblos of mesas. He fit into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned a continent also fashion the man for his surroundings. He once grew as natural as the sunflowers and he belongs just as the buffalo belongs.

And Crazy Horse belongs. And it’s fitting that a tribute to the memory of the man is with us now. Thank you very much for attending. I hope it inspires you as much as it inspires me.

Thank you very much to Ruth and her family.