South Dakota’s Bold Proposal for Trump’s National Garden of Heroes

PIERRE, S.D. — South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden formally invited former President Donald Trump on Tuesday to fulfill a promise made in 2020 regarding the establishment of a ‘National Garden of American Heroes.’ Rhoden proposed that the garden be located in the picturesque Black Hills, near Mount Rushmore.

In his letter to Trump, Rhoden emphasized that a specific plot of land is privately owned by the Lien family, who are willing to contribute the land for the project. The Lien family operates Pete Lien & Sons Inc., a construction aggregate and concrete company based in Rapid City, South Dakota. Rhoden described the location as uniquely suited to host the statue garden due to its proximity to the iconic monument.

The Lien family provided a letter indicating that the land “straddles the iconic Doane Robinson tunnel,” although available maps suggest it is located just north of the tunnel. The tunnel is a popular viewpoint for tourists seeking a framed picture of Mount Rushmore.

The Governor’s Office released conceptual drawings of the statue garden created by Storyland Development of California. These drawings form part of the proposal materials provided to Trump.

In addition, the materials included a letter from former Governor Kristi Noem, who in 2020 initially proposed the statue garden as an expansion of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial site. She noted that bronze statues of American presidents displayed in downtown Rapid City, as well as statues of state governors in Pierre, could potentially be temporarily loaned to the garden.

The National Park Service manages Mount Rushmore, while the surrounding Black Hills are largely overseen by the U.S. Forest Service. The area contains private parcels of land, many of which were claimed during the gold rush of the 1800s.

Trump originally promised to create the National Garden of American Heroes during a July 3, 2020, fireworks display at Mount Rushmore. During this event, he spoke against what he termed “cancel culture,” which he claimed was trying to erase the country’s heritage by removing statues of Founding Fathers and other historical figures.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, there was increased scrutiny of historic monuments and statues linked to racial injustice. This activism led to many monuments being altered or removed, particularly those celebrating Confederate figures.

“So today,” Trump stated during his speech, “under the authority vested in me as president of the United States, I am announcing the creation of a new monument to the giants of our past. I am signing an executive order to establish the National Garden of American Heroes, a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live.”

Trump issued an executive order formalizing this proposal during the speech and another before leaving office on January 18, 2021. The latter order directed the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to allocate a portion of their discretionary funding for commissioning statues in the garden. Each agency received $207 million in funding last year, meaning approximately $17.2 million could be targeted for this purpose.

The second order also listed about 250 individuals to be honored, including historical figures such as George Washington and Harriet Tubman, alongside modern icons like Kobe Bryant and Alex Trebek.