Today there are more than two dozen tribes associated with the Tower site. There are numerous stories about the Tower transmitted through Native American culture. Although popular culture would label them as myths or legends, a more appropriate term would be oral histories or, in many cases, sacred narratives. These stories helped connect people to the site of the Tower.
Sacred narratives are told today with reverence to the beliefs and people of the past. The name Devil's Tower originated in 1875 during an expedition led by Colonel Richard Irving Dodge, when its interpreter reportedly misunderstood a native name meaning Tower of the Evil God. All information signs in that area use the name Devils Tower, following a geographical naming rule that omits the apostrophe. Devils Tower, a majestic 600-foot tall hill in northeastern Wyoming, is a sacred religious site for American Indians from more than twenty tribes of the Great Plains.
It's also a popular spot for technical climbing. Since 1995, the National Park Service has asked climbers to voluntarily refrain from climbing the tower during the month of June, a month in which Indians travel there to celebrate sacred religious ceremonies. Bear Lodge is a sacred place for many Native American nations and tribes. The Lakota call it “Mato Tipilia” (home of the bears) (LaPointe, 6 years old), the Arapahoes (Bear's Tipi), the Cheyenne “Na Kovehe” (Bear's House), the crows “Bear's House” and the Kiowa Tso-aa (Tree-Rock) (National Park Service, “First Stories””).
The traditional stories of local tribes describe the origin and spiritual meaning of the solitary rock. Although there are some differences between the different oral traditions, Bear Lodge stories often describe how a low hill is pushed to the lonely heights of the current monument, and how a bear tries to climb the imposing rock in vain, leaving cracks along the rock with its claws. The Devil's Tower is a sacred site of enormous importance to several tribes of the plains, such as the Eastern Shoshone, the Kiowa, the Ravens, the Cheyenne, the Arapaho and the Lakota, among others. Many of these tribes refer to the tower as the “Bear Lodge” because of the oral traditions and creation myths that revolve around it (Dussias 1.It's difficult, if not impossible, for cultural outsiders to fully understand and explain the worldviews of natives, especially when they try to explain different religious practices and beliefs.)This is because the religions and ways of life of the natives are intricately intertwined.
With this, oral histories play an integral role in everyday life, unlike Western traditions. For example, the oral history of the ravens tells us that two girls were cornered by a large bear near the current Tower and, in response, the Great Spirit helped them to grow the Devil's Tower (Hanson and Chirinos 1). The girls reached the top and the vertical ridges of the Tower are the remains of the bear's attempts to reach them (Hanson and Chirinos 1). Neighboring Lakota believe they received their most sacred object, the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, from their original location of Devils Tower (Hanson and Chirinos 2).
Many tribes today still use Devils Tower and the surrounding land for religious activities, such as burials and vision missions; they also leave prayer packages and offerings in place (Dussias 1.Basso tells us that, in his case study on Western Apaches, their religion (and, by extension, their way of life), they learn by connecting with the landscape (6). This can be directly applied to the study of the natives' claims to the Devil's Tower. Enable JS and turn off any ad blockers. Passed down through centuries of Native American history, the sacred narratives surrounding the formation and spiritual meaning of Devils Tower are still told today, preserved as a traditional part of Native American culture throughout the region. The controversy surrounding Devils Tower is of vital importance to the study of the religion of the American West.
The Access Fund, a national climbing organization, has officially backed the program and the Park Service reports that, since 1995, rock climbing at Devils Tower during the month of June has fallen by more than 80%. Although some parts of the story change depending on the different tribes in the region, each one includes the presence of a giant bear or a group of bears to justify the vertical cracks along the surface of Devils Tower. In its judgment of April 26, 1999, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit confirmed that the National Park Service adapted the religious practices of American Indians at Devils Tower National Monument (see the full text of the decision). Deliberately ignoring the importance of these practices by climbing the Devil's Tower in June is selfish and only serves to damage relationships between climbers and indigenous communities.
The children make the sisters take the bear to Devils Tower and trick him into believing that they have climbed the rock. The Devils Tower National Monument was the first national monument in the United States, established on September 24, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Understanding what is special about Devils Tower adds another layer of gratitude to your visit to this extraordinary site. At that time, although many documents and maps reflected the site's original name, “Bear Lodge”, Devils Tower became the popular title and remained.
The popularity of Devils Tower National Monument, as a tourist and climbing destination, has skyrocketed over the past two decades. However, instead of returning to their village, the girls ascend to the sky in the form of stars and are transformed into the Pleiades, or star clusters of the “Seven Sisters”, which, if you decide to visit the Devil's Tower at night, are clearly visible just above of the monument during the fall. Devils Tower is a sacred site and a vital cultural resource for Indians from more than twenty Plains tribes.
