North Dakota

From the 50 State Visitor Guide :

Hot air balloons rising at dawn above Medora, ND on the weekend after Labor Day

N.D. Century Code 2021 §§12.1-20-25, 12.1-32.15, 12.1-34-06

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 days for initial registration of “residence” (not defined).  3 days for registration of “temporary domicile,” defined as being physically present in state for more than 10 consecutive days, present in state for more than 30 days in a calendar year, or at a location for longer than 10 consecutive days. §12.1-32.15(1)(h), (2).

Visitors: Per N Dak. SOR office, visitors must register if in state 10 consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residency Restriction: “High-risk” offenders may not reside within 500 ft. of a public or private school. §12.1-32-13.

Presence restriction: May not knowingly enter school without permission, subject to exceptions. §12.1-20-25.

Duration & updates:

15 to life. Frequency of updates determined by AG. §12.1-32.15.

Updates: Homeless – every 3 days. §12.1-32.15(2). Others vary.

Most recent visit: September 2025

North Dakota’s visitor rules are about average and not too tough to live with.  You get ten consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year, which should be enough for most visits – unless you’ve come seeking your fortune as an oil worker, in which case you’re establishing a residence anyway and will need to abide by North Dakota’s relatively mild residency and presence restrictions.

In early September 2025 I was in and out of North Dakota twice. I entered the state on Sunday and left Tuesday morning, so that’s three days (including partial days).  Tuesday night I stayed in Ft. Peck, MT but returned to North Dakota the next afternoon, Wednesday, and stayed that night at the International Peace Garden, which I will report on in my next blog entry.  Thursday night I was at a motel in Fargo, and left the state on Friday morning.

That means I was in North Dakota for six consecutive days from Sunday to Friday – two whole days (Mon & Thurs) and four partial days.  But even with all this in and out, I was still well within the state’s ten day limit.

Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National Grassland

Bison herd roaming in Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Taken together, Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National cover an enormous area of western North Dakota at least as large Yellowstone.  With the exception of the scenic loop roads in the national park, this whole area is roadless and wild shortgrass prairie, punctuated by the badlands of the Little Missouri River Valley.  It’s all public land so it’s been preserved in as close to its original state as you can find anywhere.

This is also where a young Theodore Roosevelt came for solitude and solace after his mother and first wife died in rapid succession.  Later as president he remembered this beautiful place as he was creating our national parks system.  So when you come to see this preserved piece of original prairie and badlands, be sure to thank him.

Prairie Dogs

My previous visit in 2022 was on the weekend after Labor Day.  It turns out that each year at dawn on Sunday of that weekend they have a hot air balloon event in the town of Medora, where the Roosevelt park entrance is.  So you might want to keep that in mind.

So far, so good for North Dakota.  But I have to say – at least in 2022, after Teddy Roosevelt everything was downhill.  The closest town to the North Unit is Watford City which, like Minot which I also passed through, is an oil boom town where a seemingly endless collection of crappy mobile homes, strip commercial garbage, truck stops and equipment maintenance companies have been vomited across the landscape.

I stayed at two state parks while in North Dakota (Fort Stevenson & Graham’s Island) and I have to say they were both very nice, clean and well equipped with hot showers and flush toilets.

International Peace Garden

If you want to dip your toe into Canada and pretend you have beaten the restrictions on international travel we registered citizens face, there is the International Peace Garden, which straddles the border between North Dakota and Manitoba. 

I stopped to see what it was in 2022 but in 2025 I decided, wouldn’t it be cool to camp overnight at the International Peace Garden?  Yes, and I will be reporting on that, and warning you about a few precautions you should take when visiting the International Peace Garden, in my next blog entry.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

South Dakota

Black Hills National Forest

From the 50 State Visitor Guide:

S.D.C.L. 2021 §§ 22-24B-1 through 22-24B-36

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for initial registration and updates, §22-24B-2; however, state law includes Saturday as a business day. §37-24-1(2).

Per the S. Dak. SOR office, there is “wiggle room” in the 3 business day registration requirement for short term visitors, especially if you are passing thru on a road trip and not staying in one location for more than a few days. If your stay in any one place will exceed the 3 day requirement, visitors should “check in” at local police or sheriff dept. and provide info about intended length of stay.  Supposedly, if not more than 5-6 days you will not be required to register. “Check out” upon departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residency restriction: “No person who is required to register … may establish a residence within” 500 ft. from school, park, public playground, or public pool.

§22-24B-23. “Residence” defined as the address a person lists for purposes of the sex offender registry.

Presence restriction: “No person who is required to register” may “loiter” within 500 ft. form school, park, public playground, public pool, or library unless registrant committed offense as a minor and was not convicted as an adult. §22-24B-24.  Petitions for exemption possible.

Supposedly, short term visitors who check in & check out according to the procedure described above (Registration Triggers & Deadlines) would not be “required to register” & thus not subject to these restrictions during their visit.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life; Petition to remove – 5 years.

Updates every 6 mo. §22-24B-7.

Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center

Playing it loosy-goosy in South Dakota

The litany of South Dakota’s residence and presence restrictions described above is long, but upon closer inspection you’ll notice that they only apply to a “person who is required to register.”  If you’re a short term visitor and avoid triggering an obligation to register, you’re off the hook.

South Dakota is one of a handful of states that, by policy, have decided to play loosy-goosy with a statutory very short (in South Dakota’s case three business days) visitor registration requirement by saying that visiting registrants have a “duty to check in” but then seemingly turn a blind eye to it when they don’t.

You may be wondering why the South Dakota state SOR office would want to pursue such a policy.  Answer: Although South Dakota has very short visitor registration requirement, it also has a standardized procedure available to remove you from its registry after departure. 

What this means for a local sheriff’s department bureaucrat is that any time a visitor is forced to register, they have to do all the work of adding that person to their registry and posting it on their website. Then as soon as that person leaves the state they have to do all the work of removing that person from their registry and their website.  That’s double the work for somebody they really couldn’t care less about. Thus is born the separate, low effort, loosy-goosy “duty to check in” policy.

Why do I describe this policy as loosy-goosy?  While I was updating all my state by state research in August 2022, the nice lady at the South Dakota SOR office came right out and said, “We have hundreds of sex offenders coming to the Sturgis Bike Rally every year.  They typically stay more than three days but less than a week.  Why would we want to register all these people and then have to remove them a few days later?”

[As an aside, I was amused by how the SOR lady’s description of the Sturgis Bike Rally made it sound like an annual sex offenders’ reunion.  Hey, maybe NARSOL should hold next year’s national conference in Sturgis during the rally and make it official?]

She then said what I have posted on my South Dakota chart:  There is “wiggle room” in the three business day registration requirement for short term visitors, especially if you are passing thru on a road trip and not staying in one location for more than a few days. If your stay in any one place will exceed the three business day requirement, visitors should “check in” at local police or sheriff dept. and provide info about intended length of stay. And remember, it’s business days, although SD counts Saturday as a business day.

The SOR lady stressed that all they are asking is that visiting registrants staying more than three days come in from the August heat and check in at the local sheriff’s department, then check out when you leave.  No harm, no foul.

Since then the more I think about what the nice SOR lady said, the more I keep saying - - Wait a minute!  I don’t know anything about bikers or biker culture, but it’s just really hard for me to imagine that hundreds of out of state registrant bikers are even going to have the slightest idea they are supposed to do that!  Not to mention how many of them may have properly reported their out of state travel before leaving their home states.

What I am much more sure of is that this is the last thing on anybody’s minds when they head off for the Sturgis Bike Rally.

And there is the dilemma for the South Dakota Sheriffs Association.  Should we or should we not send a bunch of cops into the Sturgis Bike Rally to round up sex offenders?  How would that look?  Not good.  Thus is born the loosy-goosy “check-in” policy that gets completely ignored in practice.

But suppose you aren’t a biker at the Sturgis Bike Rally?  As I said above, the SOR office claim is that if you’re passing through on a road trip and not staying in any one place for more than three days they don’t care.  So be guided by that.

Badlands National Park

Most recent visit – August 2025

In late August 2025 I was in fact passing through South Dakota on a road trip and not staying in any one place for more than three days.  At first I planned to be in SD four days (including partial days) just to demonstrate how the system works, but commitments at home made me cut the whole trip back and that included cutting a day off of South Dakota.  Even so, I was in the Black Hills on Memorial Day weekend, so that Sunday and Monday would not have counted.

I entered South Dakota on I-90 from Minnesota on Friday morning.  My goal for Day 1 was a reserved motel room in Kadoka, but I stopped to see the Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center and Dignity statue in Chamberlain (see Lakota Nations blog entry) on the way. 

Black Hills

Days 2 and 3 were devoted to sightseeing in the Black Hills, but because it was Labor Day weekend, Sunday did not count towards SD’s visitor limit – and Labor Day wouldn’t have either if I had stuck to my original plan.  Business Day #3 would have been Tuesday, and I would only have had to decide how loosy-goosy to play on Wednesday, the 6th actual day in South Dakota.

Avoid Wall Drug like the plague – South Dakota’s version of Pedro’s South of the Border.

Places to go in the Black Hills:

Badlands National Park – Just remember, it’s going to take up most of a day (photo above).

Mammoth Site – Best display of mammoths, sloths and saber tooth tigers anywhere.

Custer State Park – Has the biggest Buffalo herd in the region and spectacular scenery.

Wind Cave – Great cave tour.  Has 90% of the world’s boxwork.  Also a Lakota sacred site – See Lakota Nations blog entry.

Jewel Cave – I took the cheesy tour that involves almost all walking, but you can take the  90 minute tour that involves 745 steps (!), half up and half down.

Scenic drives in Custer SP and Black Hills National Forest (see photo at top)

Reptile Gardens – Of the roadside attractions, it’s the best.

1880 Train Ride in Hill City – There’s also a train museum next door.

The Town of Deadwood – It’s great and has all the tacky tourist crap you can ask for.  But all those historic buildings are early 20th Century, not cowboy era.

Crazy Horse is a Must See – See Lakota Nations blog entry.

Places to avoid in the Black Hills:

DO NOT go to Mount Rushmore – Anyone who has any respect for the native people of this region should refuse to visit Mount Rushmore or the nearby Borglum Rushmore Museum.  See Lakota Nations blog entry.

Avoid anything Custer-related – As the most evil villain in the history of the West, you should shun anything Custer-related. See Lakota Nations blog entry.

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler

 Lakota Nations:

First nations tourism in the Dakotas

Little Missouri River in Little Missouri National Grasslands, SD

From the 50 State Visitor Guide  : North Dakota

N.D. Century Code 2021 §§12.1-20-25, 12.1-32.15, 12.1-34-06

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 days for initial registration of “residence” (not defined).  3 days for registration of “temporary domicile,” defined as being physically present in state for more than 10 consecutive days, present in state for more than 30 days in a calendar year, or at a location for longer than 10 consecutive days. §12.1-32.15(1)(h), (2).

Visitors: Per N Dak. SOR office, visitors must register if in state 10 consecutive days or 30 days per calendar year.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residency Restriction: “High-risk” offenders may not reside within 500 ft. of a public or private school. §12.1-32-13. 

Presence restriction: May not knowingly enter school without permission, subject to exceptions. §12.1-20-25.

Duration & updates:

15 to life. Frequency of updates determined by AG. §12.1-32.15.

Updates: Homeless – every 3 days. §12.1-32.15(2). Others vary.

From the 50 State Visitor Guide : South Dakota

S.D.C.L. 2021 §§ 22-24B-1 through 22-24B-36

AWA Compliant

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

3 business days for initial registration and updates, §22-24B-2; however, state law includes Saturday as a business day. §37-24-1(2).

Per the S. Dak. SOR office, there is “wiggle room” in the 3 business day registration requirement for short term visitors, especially if you are passing thru on a road trip and not staying in one location for more than a few days. If your stay in any one place will exceed the 3 day requirement, visitors should “check in” at local police or sheriff dept. and provide info about intended length of stay.  Supposedly, if not more than 5-6 days you will not be required to register. “Check out” upon departure.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

Residency restriction: “No person who is required to register … may establish a residence within” 500 ft. from school, park, public playground, or public pool.

§22-24B-23. “Residence” defined as the address a person lists for purposes of the sex offender registry.

Presence restriction: “No person who is required to register” may “loiter” within 500 ft. form school, park, public playground, public pool, or library unless registrant committed offense as a minor and was not convicted as an adult. §22-24B-24.  Petitions for exemption possible.

Supposedly, short term visitors who check in & check out according to the procedure described above (Registration Triggers & Deadlines) would not be “required to register” & thus not subject to these restrictions during their visit.

Duration & updates:

10 years to life; Petition to remove – 5 years.

Updates every 6 mo. §22-24B-7.

From the 50 State Visitor Guide : Montana

Mont. Code Ann. 2021  §§46-23-504 through 46-23-520.

Registration Triggers and Deadlines:

Three business days for initial registration and updates; transients shall register within 3 business days of entering state. 

Visitors: Must register within 3 business days of entering the state for a temporary residence of 10 days or more, or for an aggregate period of 30 days in calendar year.  §§46-23-504, 46-23-505.

Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:

None.

Per Montana SOR office, visitors required to register should return to the locality where registered and “check out” and will be removed from registry. Whether this system works in practice is untested.

Duration & updates:

Life. Petition to remove – T1 - 10 yrs; T2 – 25 yrs.

 Updates by mail: T1 – annual; T2 – 6 months; T3 –90 days; Transients in person- 30 days.  §§46-23-504, 56-23-506.

Visiting Native American Nations

Native American nations can be fascinating places to visit, but make no mistake – you might tell yourself you are entering a sovereign nation when you cross the reservation boundary but you aren’t.  You’ll still be bound by the registry laws of whatever US state you’re in. 

Nor should you get any funny ideas if you are of native ancestry that you can somehow escape your registry status by moving to the reservation of whatever tribe you belong to.  You can’t.  As you must already realize, the oppression of the registry will follow you onto the reservation whether you’re a visitor or become a resident.  That’s why I have placed the registry laws of North and South Dakota at the beginning of this blog entry, rather than any tribal registry laws.  There may be a few tribal laws on the books but they’ve got bigger concerns than having yet another outsider passing through.

Another point that must be clearly made to anyone planning to travel to Indian Country is that you are NOT going to a tourist attraction.  This is not Pennsylvania Dutch Country where you as a tourist are invited to gawk at the locals driving their buggies and eat at an expensive smorgasbord.  To the contrary, you are about to enter upon a place where quite frankly you don’t belong.  Your visit is merely tolerated, and as far as I’m concerned that is as it should be.

Visiting Lakota Country: Aug. & Sept. 2025

My 2025 Dakotas tour wasn’t intended to be a history and cultural lesson on Lakota Country, but it turned out to be just that.  Because of that and remembering the things I learned on my previous (2022) Dakotas road trip, I believe I’m now prepared to tell you the best way to visit Lakota Country, see most of it and have a great experience.  So here goes:

Begin your tour at Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National Grassland, ND

Why begin here?  It’s not even close to any Lakota reservation.  But earlier this year as I was touring the Ojibwe Archipelago I began to realize, if you want to know the story of America’s native peoples you can’t just look at the reservations.  You have to include all the public lands that preserve natural wonders in the region, because you can be pretty sure these places were and still are very important and sacred to that region’s native people.

Buffalo is a Lakota word.  Bison is a european word.

Taken together, Roosevelt National Park and Little Missouri National cover an enormous area of western North Dakota at least as large Yellowstone.  With the exception of the scenic loop roads in the national park, this whole area is roadless and wild shortgrass prairie, punctuated by the badlands of the Little Missouri River Valley.  It’s all public land so it’s been preserved in as close to its original state as you can find anywhere.

In short, it’s the best place in America to see what Lakota Country must’ve been like before europeans arrived and screwed everything up.  The national park even has Buffalo herds (Note: Buffalo is a Lakota word, Bison is a european word).  It’s easy to imagine Lakota hunters following the herds as it might have been in the old days. (Note: there’s also prairie dog towns!)  That’s why your visit to Lakota Country should start here.

Prairie dogs

This is also where a young Theodore Roosevelt came for solitude and solace after his mother and first wife died in rapid succession.  Later as president he remembered this beautiful place as he was creating our national parks system.  So when you come to see this preserved piece of original Lakota Country, be sure to thank him.

Next, see how the Lakota and other tribes live today

Nakota/Dakota Nation (Montana – Ft. Peck reservation)

Northeastern Montana is quite similar to western North Dakota, and there is a reservation there to look at, so why not skip the National Grasslands and start here?  Answer: Because all of northeastern Montana is private ranches and farms, including on the reservation, and as nice as that looks it’s no longer much like its original state. 

Ft. Peck Dam & power plant just before dawn

The agricultural and ranch lands on reservations look about the equivalent of nearby off reservation lands, consisting of farms and ranches.  Just don’t expect to see buffalo roaming anywhere because they’ve been long ago replaced by cattle just like everywhere else.  Beef – it’s what’s for dinner.  You will, however, find more horses grazing on reservations.

The largest town on this reservation is Wolf Point.  It is a segregated town where the anglos live in relative splendor on the north side and the Nakota/Dakota live in relative squalor (but not as bad as I’ve seen elsewhere) on the south side.  A relatively healthy commercial strip along US 2 separates the two.

Abandoned church as seen from its graveyard

The tribal town of Poplar illustrates that if your Ft. Peck Community College graduates can’t find opportunities without leaving, you can’t keep them on the reservation by building a lot of tiny un-air conditioned government subsidized cracker box houses out in the middle of nowhere.  What you end up with is most of them are empty, boarded up and full of graffiti.

Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation (North Dakota – Three Affiliated Tribes reservation)

Now it’s time to admit that the Lakota haven’t always been the good guys in this region’s history.  The Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nations banded together in the 1850’s partly to avoid going to war with the Lakota, who wanted to hog all the Buffalo to themselves.  Now they share the Three Affiliated Tribes reservation which I traveled through in 2022 but didn’t look closely at. 

My map says there is a Three Tribes Museum in New Town.  I couldn’t find it in 2022 but I wasn’t leaving the main highways much in those days.

Spirit Lake Tribe (North Dakota)

I know the Spirit Lake Tribe must affiliate as Lakota because I saw a Lakota-named School.  But most of their signs and symbols say Spirit Lake Tribe.

The tribal town of Ft. Totten looks okay as you drive through the commercial strip on SR 57, but turn off on a few random side streets and you will see some of the worst reservation poverty anywhere.

The Spirit Lake reservation sits on the south shore of the insultingly-named Devil’s Lake.  I assume we’re talking about the same lake here.  On the northern shore is the equally insultingly-named anglo town of Devil’s Lake.  Both town and north lakeshore seem to be doing fine, thank you.

Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Lakota Nations (North & South Dakota)

I traveled through parts of these nations in 2022.  The Native American Scenic Byway passes through the Cheyenne River Lakota reservation, sometimes criss-crossing the Lewis & Clark Scenic Byway (remember – the Missouri River, the european invaders’ main highway, bisects both North and South Dakota).  This scenic byway is absolutely stunning in its stark beauty. You’ll think you are driving through the set of Dances With Wolves … because you are.

One other point about reservation tourism – turn on your radio!  Most First Peoples have their own radio stations these days, often NPR affiliates, and there is nothing like driving through the set of Dances With Wolves with authentic Native war chants blasting on the tube!

Sitting Bull stands guard over the Missouri River

The only historical monument I saw on native land in 2022 was Sitting Bull’s Grave, which is right near the boundary between the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Lakota reservation, fittingly in the middle of nowhere keeping guard over the Missouri River, a few miles from SD State Road 20.

Lower Brule Lakota Nation (South Dakota)

I traveled through this reservation in 2022.  The main thing I remember is you can see the reservation poverty in the tribal town of Lower Brule from the main road.

Oglala Lakota Nation (South Dakota – Pine Ridge)

I visited the Oglala Lakota Nation for the first time in late August 2025.  I had entered South Dakota from the east and picked up a nice glossy brochure with a map at the I-90 welcome station (see photo).  This gave me confidence that I could drive around without getting lost and see the things the Oglala Lakota Chamber of Commerce wanted me to see.

Unfortunately, nothing about this reservation lived up to the brochure.  Oglala Lakota Living History Village – sounds interesting, right?  Too bad it’s been closed for years and growing over with weeds.  Oglala Lakota College Historical Center – It’s a nice looking college but I couldn’t find the historical center.

Wounded Knee

Then there is Wounded Knee.  You would think that for such an important site, the Oglala Lakota would have made it a show piece of education and quiet contemplation both for themselves and the outsiders the brochure is trying to attract.  No.  See photo.  Note poor maintenance, dirt trails and hokey trinket stalls.

Pine Ridge is a larger than average tribal town.  It contains all the tribal offices, health and welfare services you would expect in the tribal town, and has more and better commercial services than most tribal towns, owing to its location on US 18.  Residential areas are pretty bad but not as bad as I’ve seen elsewhere.

Learn about the Lakota and other native cultures

Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center 

Chamberlain, SD

Akta Lakota Museum & Cultural Center

The good news is this is a good museum that tells the Lakota story, it’s close to I-90 and there are billboards to get you to the right exit.  The bad news is there’s no sign telling you to turn left at the bottom of the ramp (DO NOT go to the South Dakota Hall of Fame), and it’s located on the campus of the Lakota’s old overlord, St. Joseph’s Catholic Indian School.  The school has even imposed its will on the Lakota by establishing its own museum of school history right across the hall in the same building.  I refused the invitation to go there, but you should go to the Akta Lakota Museum and Cultural Center.

Dignity sculpture

Also in Chamberlain – Dignity of Earth And Sky sculpture at the I-90 scenic overlook.

The Black Hills, SD

Most of the Upper Midwest was originally rolling grasslands punctuated by badlands.  But right in the middle is a very unusual and beautiful outcrop of mountains we now call the Black Hills.  You can hardly blame the Lakota and other Plains Indians for considering all of those mountains as sacred, some unusual features even more so than others. 

Invading europeans had little appreciation for anything sacred or beautiful, only what was profitable, so most of the Black Hills were included as reservation lands in the original US treaty with the Lakota.  That probably would have satisfied everybody except that George Custer couldn’t resist marching his ass up there and discovering gold.  From that moment on he would only be satisfied with stealing all the sacred lands and slaughtering the people of the region.

There is, however, a silver lining to this tragedy.  It turned out that the mineral resources, while significant, are confined to a relatively small part of the Black Hills.  Teddy Roosevelt had the foresight to preserve as much of the rest as possible in national parks, forests and grasslands.  The result is that many of the most sacred lands have been preserved, and the Lakota and other tribes have access to them.

Go to Wind Cave National Park – This is a great park and a great cave tour. Wind Cave has about 90% of all the boxwork in the world.  But the reason you need to include Wind Cave in your Lakota cultural tour is that the Lakota and other first people believe their ancestors emerged from the underworld through the original cave opening. 

Wind Cave guide telling the Lakota origin story

Very fortunately the anglo family that first occupied this land decided not to blow up this original opening to enlarge it.  Instead they blew open another entrance about 50 yards away.  Nowadays the Parks Service bends over backwards to accommodate native needs, and your cave tour will begin with a walk over to the original entrance where the guide will tell you the Lakota origin story.

DO NOT go to Mount Rushmore – Anyone who has any respect for the native people of this region should refuse to visit Mount Rushmore or the nearby Borglum Rushmore Museum.  As you must realize by now, carving presidents faces into the side of a Black Hills mountain is a desecration of sacred lands.  Besides, they make you pay to get in, their entire visitors center is a tawdry commercial enterprise, and when you finally see the carvings they’re not as impressive as you have been led to expect – especially compared to Crazy Horse.

Avoid anything Custer-related – As the most evil villain in the history of the Plains tribes, it is criminal that his name is plastered all over so much of the Black Hills and you should shun all of that as much as possible – hotels, restaurants, roadside attractions, the town of Custer, all of it.  However, you won’t be able to avoid Custer State Park because it has the big Buffalo herd.  It also preserves a large and beautiful part of the sacred Black Hills.  Just refuse to spend any money in their gift shop until they change the name of the park.

Complete your tour at Crazy Horse Memorial

They make you pay to get in Crazy Horse too but this time it’s worth it.  The visitor center includes the largest and most complete collection of cultural artifacts I have seen.  There are talks and performances.  The gift shop is enormous and stocked with authentic stuff.  There’s even an over-priced Lakota-themed restaurant so you eat lunch without guilt.

"My lands are where my dead lie buried."

Crazy Horse pointing at Wounded Knee and demanding justice.

Then, of course, there is Crazy Horse.  In the Top This competition between Crazy Horse and Mount Rushmore, the Lakota people have made extra sure that their monument will never be topped.  When complete it will consume an entire mountain – presumably one that’s not sacred – and unlike Mt. Rushmore which is hidden in the hills, Crazy Horse is right there by the main highway where he can’t be ignored. 

Now that Crazy Horse’s finger and hand have been revealed, it’s obvious why his face and finger were the two most important body parts to be carved first.  To me, with part of the mountain also cleared, it now looks like he is emerging from a whirlwind, pointing directly at Wounded Knee and demanding justice.  There can be no more fitting conclusion to your tour of Lakota Country.

Authentic teepee at the Crazy Horse Cultural Center

Bruce Hossfield, Atwo Zee Registered Traveler