Considerable scholarly analysis in recent years regards Mount Rushmore as a site of national symbolism.¹ Mount Rushmore has been interpreted and reinterpreted in ways that provide insight into its use and meaning as a U.S. patriotic icon. The choice of Mount Rushmore as a location for inquiry into the changing notions of patriotism stems from several sources. One reason is its prevalent cultural use as “shorthand for patriotism” in political campaigns, films, and marketing.² Additionally, the interest in “historically oriented tourism”³ resulted in approximately 1,989,771 tourists visiting Mount Rushmore in 2006 and more than a million tourists attending this site.