High in the Black Hills of South Dakota, a monumental tribute to Native American heritage is taking shape, both in granite ...

The Crazy Horse monument in March 2012. When finished, it is expected to be 641 feet long and 563 feet high. It is the largest mountain carving in progress. Image: Matthew Staver/Landov ...

Officials at the mountain carving in South Dakota's Black Hills say a small gathering of people stood in swirling snow Monday to see the Veterans Day blasts that removed 1,490 tons of granite.

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL - A night blast on the Crazy Horse mountain carving is planned for Thursday, June 26, at Crazy Horse Memorial near Custer. The blast will be about 9 p.m., weather permitting.

In 1998, Crazy Horse's completed face was unveiled. Seemingly overnight, a chimerical project had become real, bringing streams of tourists intent upon learning more about Indian history.

By the late 1990s, the face of Crazy Horse had emerged from the mountain carving. The last decade has been spent roughing out the horse's head — it's 22 stories high.

Crazy Horse Memorial, the world's largest mountain carving, marks the 60th anniversary Tuesday, June 3, 2008 of the first blast on the project that honors American Indians.

Korczak worked virtually alone on the mountain for years and died in 1982, 16 years before the first part of the carving -- the giant face of Crazy Horse -- was completed in 1998.

CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL, S.D. -- A new milestone has been accomplished on the Crazy Horse mountain carving in progress in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Workers this month completed blocking out ...

FILE - In this Aug. 21, 2010, file photo, the Crazy Horse mountain carving looks out to South Dakota's Black Hills near Custer, S.D. Crazy Horse was a famed Oglala Lakota warrior and leader who ...