Crazy Horse Memorial Highway

Highway 20 section to be named for Lakota leader

By Kerri RemppPart of the Bridges to Buttes Scenic Highway will now also honor a fallen Native American hero.

Governor Dave Heineman approved last week the naming a stretch of Highway 20 from Hay Springs to Fort Robinson as Crazy Horse Memorial Highway. A group of Chadron individuals began seeking the designation over a year ago.

Dr. John Gamby, a local veterinarian, was one of those leading the charge. He said last year that he had noticed commemorative highway signs in other parts of the state and believed naming part of Highway 20 after Crazy Horse would be an appropriate recognition of Crazy Horse’s important place in the region’s history.

“That’s good news.” Gamby said after learning the governor had approved the request. “I think it’s a worthy cause,”

Gamby said no one with influence on the shaping of this region was more widely known than Crazy Horse as he sought to protect his way of life. Crazy Horse, a Lakota warrior and chief, was born in what is now South Dakota and fought U.S. soldiers in Wyoming, living part of his life in Nebraska’ Pine Ridge area. He eventually surrendered to the government at Camp Sheridan, north of Hay Springs, in September 1877. The U.S. Army transferred him to the military post at Camp (Fort) Robinson, where he was killed while resisting imprisonment.Comment:  For more on Crazy Horse, see White Buffalo = Marauding Indian and Dan Simmons Tackles Black Hills.

Below:  "Riders in the 2010 Crazy Horse Ride travel along Highway 20 east of Chadron. The section of Highway 20 from Fort Robinson to Hay Springs has just been designated the Crazy Horse Memorial Highway in honor of the famous Lakota Leader."