Prohibiting the Use of Federal Funds to Destroy, Alter, or Remove the Faces on Mount Rushmore (H.R. 7358)

What is H.R. 7358?

(Updated December 5, 2021)

This bill — known as the Mount Rushmore Protection Act — would prohibit the use of federal funds to alter, change, destroy, or remove in whole or in part, any name, face, or other feature on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The Mount Rushmore National Memorial, known as America’s Shrine of Democracy, depicts the faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln with the beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota as a backdrop. Those four presidents were chosen to represent America’s birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively.

Argument in favor

The four depicted on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial weren’t perfect and had notable flaws, but those are outweighed by the virtues they demonstrated in founding, developing, and preserving the United States of America. It would be a waste of resources to destroy, alter, or remove Mount Rushmore which ultimately would do nothing to move our country forward. We should instead endeavor to learn from those leaders’ contributions & flaws.

Argument opposed

The Mount Rushmore sculptures depict presidents whose sins & misdeeds cannot be overlooked in American history, and should not be honored. They also serve as an insult to the American Indian tribes who used to call the Black Hills home and saw their treaties with the U.S. government broken. The only adequate solution to this situation is the removal of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial from the landscape.

Impact

Visitors to Mount Rushmore; those would seek to destroy or alter Mount Rushmore; and federal agencies.

Cost of H.R. 7358

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) introduced this bill to prohibit the use of federal funds to alter, change, destroy, or remove the likeness, name of, or face on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial:

“These presidents championed the cause of freedom. Those seeking to remove these iconic faces are undermining the contributions these leaders made in pursuit of a more perfect union.”

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said that she is partnering with the federal government to ensure the protection of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial:

“In recent days, we have seen threats to memorials that honor some of America’s greatest leaders. Some vandals have gone so far as to attack statues of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, the very leaders who brought the Union through the Civil War and ushered in the end of slavery in our country. These are the same men who turned Jefferson’s ideal into reality. Now we’re seeing threats to Mount Rushmore. To those who would threaten America’s Shrine of Democracy, I have one simple message for you: Not on my watch.

Mount Rushmore is a National Monument, and I am partnering with the federal government and offering the resources of South Dakota to make sure that proper security measures are in place. We will do everything in our power to make sure that Mount Rushmore remains as majestic and inspiring as it is today… I want to make one thing clear: the men honored on Mount Rushmore weren’t perfect; nobody is. They all had flaws. But they all had tremendous virtues as well, and they did incredible things for our country. Today, America is the greatest nation in the history of the world, and that is in no small part thanks to each president memorialized on Mount Rushmore. We can learn from their successes, and we can also learn from their mistakes. And in doing so, we must continue to fight for the American ideal that each of them spent their lives striving for: “All men are created equal.””

The official Democratic Party Twitter account tweeted, then deleted, a tweet criticizing President Donald Trump for his plan to attend an Independence Day celebration at Mount Rushmore, which read as follows before it was deleted without further comment:

“Trump has disrespected Native communities time and again. He’s attempted to limit their voting rights and blocked critical pandemic relief. Now he’s holding a rally glorifying white supremacy at Mount Rushmore — a region once sacred to tribal communities.”

The Black Hills region of South Dakota where Mount Rushmore National Memorial is located are considered sacred by several American Indian tribes that inhabited the area at various times, particularly the Oglala Lakota (or Sioux), Arapaho, and Cheyenne. Under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, the Black Hills were to be set aside for the Great Sioux Reservation, but war between the resident Lakota & white settlers after gold was discovered and neither side honored the terms. The Lakota came to reside in the Black Hills after defeating & driving out the Cheyenne & Arapaho tribes, who had previously defeated & driven out the Kiowa & Crow tribes. In 1877, some of the Lakota bands ceded the Black Hills to the U.S. through a treaty, while other bands accused the U.S. of annexing the land unilaterally & the conflict continued until 1890. In 1980, a Supreme Court ruling awarded eight bands of the Sioux Indians a total of $122 million for their Black Hills land claims, but they have refused the settlement because it would bring a legal end to their demand for the return of the Black Hills. The funding has grown to over $1 billion as of 2011, as it’s held in trust by the Bureau of Indian Affairs accruing compound interest. 

Two Sioux tribal leaders have called for the removal of the Mount Rushmore sculptures. Oglala Sioux President Julian Bear Runner called Mount Rushmore “a great sign of disrespect”. Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier told USA Today that, “Nothing stands as a greater reminder to the Great Sioux Nation of a country that cannot keep a promise or treaty than the faces carved into our sacred land on what the United States calls Mount Rushmore,” and added that, “This brand on our flesh needs to be removed and I am willing to do it free of charge to the United States, by myself if I must.” 

This legislation has the support of 23 cosponsors in the House, all of whom are Republicans.

Of Note: The construction of Mount Rushmore occurred from October 4, 1927, to October 31, 1941, under the direction of sculptor Gutzon Borglum (who was accused of being a member of the Ku Klux Klan), chief carver Luigi del Bianco, and 400 workers. The National Park Service took Mount Rushmore under its jurisdiction in 1934. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were chosen to represent America’s birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively. There were plans to add torsos to the presidents’ heads and Susan B. Anthony, but a lack of funding during the Great Depression resulted in just the presidents’ heads being sculpted. Referred to as the “Shrine of Democracy”, Mount Rushmore attracts more than two million visitors annually.

Elsewhere in the Black Hills, a monument to Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse has been under construction since 1948, and if completed as designed it would be the world’s second tallest statue, behind only the Statue of Unity.

Media:

• Sponsoring Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) Press Release

• South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) Press Release (Context)

• Fox News (Context)

• National Park Service (Context)