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The dark history of Mount Rushmore - Ned Blackhawk and Jeffrey D. Means

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TEDEd Animation

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Between 1927 and 1941, workers blasted 450,000 tons of rock from a mountainside using chisels, jackhammers, and dynamite. Gradually, they carved out Mount Rushmore. Today, the monument draws nearly 3 million people to South Dakota’s Black Hills every year. But its façade belies a dark history. Ned Blackhawk and Jeffrey D. Means explore the destruction of the sacred Six Grandfathers Mountain.

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In 1980 the__________________ ruled that the Black Hills were illegally taken by the U.S., and the Lakota were entitled to compensation.

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Meet The Creators

  • Educator Ned Blackhawk, Jeffrey D. Means
  • Director Anton Bogaty
  • Narrator Jake Hart
  • Composer Cem Misirlioglu, Greg Chudzik
  • Sound Designer Cem Misirlioglu
  • Director of Production Gerta Xhelo
  • Editorial Director Alex Rosenthal
  • Producer Bethany Cutmore-Scott
  • Associate Editorial Producer Cella Wright
  • Content Associate Abdallah Ewis
  • Script Editor Alex Gendler
  • Fact-Checker Jennifer Nam

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