This year marks 100 years since Mount Rushmore was dedicated as a national monument. The stone butte carved with the faces of four presidents has become a patriotic symbol. But the federal government’s broken treaties to take over the land is only the beginning of the famous monument’s troubled history. We’ll hear about Rushmore’s connection to the Confederate South and the ongoing insult of honoring leaders who contributed to efforts to eliminate the sacred land’s original inhabitants.

GUESTS

Nick Estes (Lower Brule Sioux Tribe), assistant professor of American Indian studies at the University of Minnesota

Chief Arvol Looking Horse (Lakota/Dakota/Nakota), 19th Generation Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe

Matthew Davis, author of forthcoming book “A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore”

Break 1 Music:  Nothing for Ourselves (song) Klee Benally (artist) Appropriation (album)

Break 2 Music: Rodeo Song [Skip Dance Song] (song) Sweethearts of Navajoland (artist) From the Heart of Diné Nation Traditional Songs of the Navajo (album)