The creation of Mount Rushmore is a story of struggle — and to some, desecration. The Black Hills are sacred to the Lakota Sioux, the original occupants of the area when white settlers arrived.

In Lakota thought, winyan represents the concept of woman as the first spirit of creation and the foundation of all people. The Pouriers intend the title to refer to contemporary Native women who ...

On June 25 and 26, 1876, warriors of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho nations defeated Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer and the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn.