this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2024
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[–] Sotuanduso@lemm.ee 95 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (3 children)

The name of Six Grandfathers represents six ancestral deities of the Native Americans, personified as the six directions (cardinal + up and down.) The US and the Lakota Sioux were at war due to US expansion, but then they made a treaty in 1868 promising the Sioux exclusive use of the Black Hills and Six Grandfathers forever.

Of course, US history being what it is, they had another war in 1876, and seized the land in 1877, because of the gold rush. I couldn't find any mention of bounty hunters, but it was a war.

Mount Rushmore was named after Charles E. Rushmore, but it was named by his guide Bill Challis. Charles asked Bill what the mountain was called, and Bill said it didn't have a name, so he named it Mount Rushmore.

The monument at Mount Rushmore was inspired by a Confederate monument in Stone Mountain, Georgia. They got Gutzon Borglum, the same guy who made the other one, to be the sculptor for Mount Rushmore. Gutzon had ties to the KKK, who had funded the Stone Mountain monument, but wasn't technically a member himself.

The original plan for Mount Rushmore was made by Jonah LeRoy "Doane" Robinson, who wanted it to represent "not only the wild grandeur of its local geography but also the triumph of western civilization over that geography through its anthropomorphic representation." Ouch.

Interestingly, he didn't plan to use presidents initially, but instead Old West characters such as Lewis and Clark, Red Cloud, Sacagawea, John C. Fremont, and Crazy Horse. Gutzon shot that down and opted for presidents instead. So basically if it weren't for that guy, we could have had Native Americans on Mount Rushmore.

I couldn't find any evidence of KKK funding for Mount Rushmore, but it did receive private funding, so that's a possibility. Federal funding only game when Gutzon invited Calvin Coolidge to a dedication ceremony, at which he promised it.

So while the truth was almost as bad, this post isn't entirely accurate. You don't like it when the Republicans spread misinformation. Being a communist is no license to do the same.

Source: Wikipedia.

EDIT: After reading the article and Snopes page linked by ZombiFrancis...

  • President Grant did order the army not to protect the natives. There were orders that the Black Hills shouldn't be occupied, and he didn't rescind those orders, but he did order the army not to stop miners from going in anyways.
  • Bounty hunting was a thing, but there isn't much evidence to point to it being a thing during this war. Much less funded by the government, as they already had soldiers to kill the natives with.
  • Gutzon Borglum left the Stone Mountain project due to KKK infighting, and they weren't exactly happy to see him work on Mount Rushmore instead, so it's actually unlikely that they would have funded it - but still a possibility.
[–] RubberElectrons@lemmy.world 21 points 10 months ago

Thanks for this response. The truth matters.

[–] ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 17 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Edit:

https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/07/29/kkk-mount-rushmore/

This is the snopes page on this actual meme.

The meme appears to be almost a full summary of this: https://thewellofdyersburg.org/2020/09/25/knowing-our-true-history-a-sacred-site-defaced/

Which does seem fairly well sourced.

[–] Sotuanduso@lemm.ee 4 points 10 months ago

Thanks, I'll review this and incorporate what I can find in an edit.

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 12 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Gutzon Borglum

Is this even a real name

[–] hactar42@lemmy.world 10 points 10 months ago

Sounds like a character from Hitchhikers Guide. Hell it could even be a B-plot: Slartibartfast is trying to stop Gutzon Borglum from carving Zaphod Beeblebrox into a mountain he created.

[–] Sotuanduso@lemm.ee 8 points 10 months ago

Wow, I didn't even notice how made-up that sounds.

John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum.

His father, Jens Møller Haugaard Børglum (1839–1909), came from the village of Børglum in northwestern Denmark.

[–] Tikiporch@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago

It's an anagram for his true identity, Nutzog Murbolg.