What Minnesotans can learn when they go visit the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota

Each summer, hundreds of Minnesota families make the trip to Mount Rushmore and to sacred Lakota land.

"My husband and I have never been out here so we thought it would be a good time to bring our kids out," said Jackie Lee Rieke.

Rieke and her husband Derek are doing what's become a rite of passage for many people: They left their New Ulm home for the Black Hills of South Dakota.

"We wanted to see Mt. Rushmore and everything that the Black Hills has to offer," said Derek Rieke.

And as impressive as they are, the four presidents aren't the only massive monuments you'll find out here.

The Crazy Horse Memorial sees 700,000 guests a year, with a majority of the visitors coming from the Midwest.

"We get a lot of Minnesota visitors and we are very excited," said Whitney Rencountre II, CEO of the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The memorial has been under construction for nearly 80 years. Chief Henry Standing Bear, a first cousin of Crazy Horse, wanted to see the Lakota Warrior carved into Thunderhead Mountain.

"In his mind, he wanted to carve this mountain so no matter what happened to our people, there would always be a place for people to come learn, and we could protect and preserve our culture," said Rencountre.

And Rencountre said there was a reason why he wanted it done here.

"The west part of South Dakota is a beautiful country and it's the birthplace of the Lakota people. Our creation story," said Rencountre.

"What we call the 'Heart of the Earth.' When you look at it from an aerial image it looks like a human heart almost," said Isaac Weston.

Weston is Oglala Sioux, the same tribe as Crazy Horse. He lives in Red Wing, Minnesota now but grew up learning that the Lakota warrior is a symbol of courage and resilience.

"He talks about whenever you look at the Black Hills, remember me. A defender of my people and a defender of my land," said Weston.

Since sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski made the first dynamite blast in 1948, progress on the privately funded monument has been slow but steady. Crazy Horse's face was finished in 1998. And two years ago, his left hand was completed.

"It's amazing what they can do," said Keith Ferrin, who was visiting from Rosemount, Minnesota. "With dynamite, that's even more impressive."

"I can't believe it's still going on but I know these things take time. It's interesting to see the progress and how that's going," said Kendra Gerber, visitor from Duluth, Minnesota. 

The hope is that Minnesotans and other visitors leave with an appreciation for the work that's been done, and the work still ahead. And a better understanding of why the memorial exists in the first place.

"We have to do our own research to really, truly understand the beauty of Native American culture," said Rencountre. "That there are different cultures that exist in the world. And when we take time to learn from one another, it makes our world a better place."

Next to Colorado, the Crazy Horse Memorial said Minnesotans visit their site the most.

The focus now at the memorial is the sculpting of the horse's head and mane.