Last updated: June 8, 2020
Audio
The Native American Experience
Transcript
Piper: Thank you for joining us on the Tower Frequency my name is Piper Lewis here at Devils Tower courtesy of GeoCorps and the Geological Society of America. Today we're going to gain a deeper understanding of the Native American history and experience here at Devils Tower. Our guests will share their own personal experiences and cultural relationship to the tower. Today we are joined by:
IDA: Ida Mae Evans Garrison
GEORGE: my name is George Reed Junior
DOROTHY Firecloud: my name is Dorothy Firecloud, I'm a member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe in South Dakota which is culturally affiliated to the Tower and I was also the first native superintendent at Devils Tower from 2006 to the middle of 2012
BEVERLY: my name is Beverly Swift Pony and I am an interpretive ranger at Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming
PHILIP: [speaking Northern Cheyenne], my name is Philip White-Man Junior and I am Northern Cheyenne my father and grandfather were chiefs and today I take on that responsibility and role.
DOROTHY: my name is [speaking Kiowa] I was named in a tepee in 1933 in a Native American church meeting by a gentleman named John Eagle Heart. It means She Comes with Beautiful Prayers. My English name is Dorothy Whitehorse DuLaune.
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PIPER: There are over 22 tribes who have a connection to the Tower. Including: Assiboine & Sioux of the Fort Peck Reservation Montana, the Blackfeet, the Blood of Canada, the Confederated Kootenai & Salish Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana, the Cheyenne River Lakota, the Crow, the Crow Creek Lakota, the Eastern Shoshone, Flandreau Santee Dakota, Lower Brule Lakota, Northern Arapaho, Northern Cheyenne, Ogala Lakota, the Piikani of Canada, the Rosebud Lakota, Sissteon-Wahpeton Dakota, Southern Arapaho, Southern Cheyenne, the Soirit Lake Lakota, Standing Rock Lakota, Three Afflilated Tribes, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, and Yankton Dakota among others. There are many names for the Tower but most have something to do with bears. The Arapaho call it Bear Tipi, the Crow Bearlodge, The Lakota Bearlodge or Grizzly Bear Lodge or Mythic Owl Mountain. The Cheyenne named it Bear Tipi or Bearlodge House or Peak. The Kiowa call it Tree Rock or Aloft on a Rock. The first mapmakers of Wyoming who spotted the tower from far-off called it Bearlodge. But when Gen. Custer visited the Tower in 1859 with geological surveyors they miss translated the name as Devils Tower. Custers account and the book he wrote about this area gained much popularity on the East Coast and the older map names were ignored for the popularized Devils Tower. The apostrophe was dropped as a clerical error never fixed.
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PIPER: There are many Native American legends about the Tower. the Lakota legend goes: In the Sioux tribe long ago was a brave warrior who often went alone into the wilderness where he would fast and worship the Great Spirit in solitude. Being alone helped him to strengthen his courage so that in the future he could carry out his plans. One day this warrior took his buffalo skull and went along into the wilderness to worship. Standing at the base of Mato Tipila, after he had worshipped for two days, he suddenly found himself on top of this high rock. He was very much frightened as he did not know how he would get down. After appealing to the Great Spirit he went to sleep. When he awoke he was very glad to find that he was again at the base of this high rock. He saw that he was standing at the door of a big bear's lodge as there was foot prints of a very big bear there. He could tell that the cracks in the big rock were made by the big bear's claws. So he knew that all the time he had been on top of this big rock he had been standing on a big bear's lodge. From this time on his nation called this big high rock Mato Tipila and they went there often to worship. The buffalo skull is still on top of this big high rock and can be seen on the highest point. This legend told to Dick Stone by Short Bull, who lived a short distance west of Oglala, South Dakota, on July 31, 1932. Mark Running Eagle, Interpreter. PIPER: George Reed Junior shares the Crow legend about the tower. George: it was during a time when we moved about the plains following the mighty bison herds. It was a time when we were camped near the big saddle and the Black Hills. And children would play, one would pretend to be a bear and they would chase the other children and so they would take turns playing bear. And there were two sisters and the older sister would always refuse to be a bear. And finally one day they coaxed her and said it's your turn to be a bear and she said okay I'll be a bear. She told her little sister that when she becomes a bear that she should hide so the little sister hid. And her sister that turn into a bear killed all the parents and the children and then she called her sister and said it's over and you can come out now. And the little sister came out; she was afraid. She was told to go after a lodge, a tepee. They put up the tepee and she was told to gather wood. So she went and gathered wood and built a fire. And then she was told to go after some water. And she went down to the stream and she was so afraid she was crying. And six of her brothers were going on a journey, A war journey. And they heard their little sister crying. And they said, "That's one of our little sisters crying." So they went back and they crossed the stream. And there she was crying. And they asked her why are you crying and she said, "We played pretending to be a bear; my sister would never want to play a bear, be up there, So she finally decided to play there and she told me that if she pretended to be at there should be a real bear and that I should hide. And so I did and then she killed all the parents and all the children and she said it's over now you can come out so I came out and she told me to get a lodge and so I went and got a lodge and put it up. And she told me to get some would so I went and got one den started a fire. I came to fetch water and I cried because I was afraid and then you hurt me you're. So the brothers said you go back and you gather some branches off a Plum tree I just do it along the way around the path you go and hit her on the Shin and Ron. To hit her on the Shin it's an expression you know, to challenge them, when you challenge someone to hit her on the Shin. That expression [speaking Crow]. So the little girl went back to her sister and she gathered plum branch is an strewed them along the way and hit her sister on the shin and ran. And she ran around those plum branches and the bear ran through the branches and they would stick to her toes, her foot, and she would stop and pick up of thorns. And the brothers said we'll wait for you at that boulder, So she ran to her brothers. And by the time the bear came through those plum branches she had reached up boulder and they helped her on top of the boulder. And as the bear was coming they said jumped, And they jumped and the boulder grew taller. And when the bear reached the bolder they said let's jump again. They jumped again and they were out of reach of the bear. She tried hard to climb up older but she would fall back so there were claw marks all around the boulder. And she said it's over it's done, Come on down you can come down now it's over I'm done. At that time that Boulder parted they said if you go in that boulder will come down. So she went in the Boulder and Boulder came together, She's in case she's entombed in that boulder. She was crying and hollering and screaming the siblings said what Shelley do. And the little sister said well let's go be the place where they offer the pipe, Let's be the seven stars let's be the Big Dipper. So they went up into the sky and became the seven stars, the Big Dipper the place where they offer the pipe to when they're in prayer. And they sang every now and then they come and visit their sibling who's there and that grizzly bear Lodge. Piper: Dorothy Whitehorse DuLaune shares the Kiowa legend about Devils Tower that she was told by her grandmother. Dorothy: these girls were playing there were seven of them. They're different versions, Every tribe has a different version but they came upon Devils Tower, I mean they didn't know they were at that area but that was one of their places to stop and they were eight sisters. Now some people Will say he was seven sisters and a boy, But the way I learned this story, The way my grandmother told it. There were seven girls they were playing like we did when we were growing up, We say come on let's play tag, They'd say [speaking Kiowa], Come on please come you be the chaser, You chase us. And this one particular sister would say [speaking Kiowa], No no. I guess inside she had medicine and they didn't know it. [speaking Kiowa], and they said come on and she said no no no no no no. And they kept badgering her, so finally she told them okay. And they were playing tag. She said I told you all, [speaking Kiowa], I've been telling you and he won't listen [speaking Kiowa], now something’s gonna happen. As she was chasing them she started sprouting hair, and you know they didn't notice it yet, And then she looks down and she had clause. And then she turned into a grizzly bear. And by that time they've seen that changed completely, And she was running after them to catch them. Out of that bunch of tree is a voice came up in Kiowa. It said [speaking Kiowa] come here, [speaking Kiowa] I'll help you come on. And so as they were running there was a tree stump, There was a bigger. And the rock said come here and I'm going to help you. [speaking Kiowa] run around the rock four times and then shoot an arrow up into the sky. So they shot. They were screaming in the bear was coming behind them, And they jumped on this rock and it started to grow. And by the time they are got there they were above his level and it just kept rowing. [speaking Kiowa] it was jumping and scratching inclined trying to get to them and the claw marks were coming down more prominently, And they were screeching and menu that was their sister but it was not the same being anymore, And they were so scared that the rock just took them straight on up where the last arrow shot, the Milky Way is what my people say. The Big Dipper. And they say when you pray look up there. That's how I grew up when you see those stars up there that's the seven sisters. So I grew up hearing that, The seven sisters. Piper: Philip White Man shares the northern Cheyenne legend about the tower. Philip: the story about this rock, there was a young couple living near the water. And early in the morning that lady would go down to fetch water. She be gone for a long time, Finally the husband went and looked for her. She would walk into the water and a serpent would come out of the water and she would fall under the serpents spell. The warrior took a bell and arrow, And he shot an arrow into that serpent. Later he took food back to his children, Daughter and son. He Fed them and there's enough food there to last a while. He said he was going to go and leave them. The envoy and daughter they stayed around the camp for days. Father never did come by back. They all the food and then they started kind of wandering around, Going a little bit further than normal. They heard some rumblings something coming, So they ran about a little rock and here comes the bear. Cheyenne called them [speaking Cheyenne] mother, [speaking Cheyenne] grandmother,. And here that there started going to that rock, And the children were huddled sitting on that rock and they were afraid. Here that there started Klein at that rock. Each time those children request crying out for help. Each time that there the bear clawed, the rock grew. The Bear clawed it all the way around, And the rocks started growing, growing. At that time there have longtail, The creator, the spirits shot lightning down and cut the tail off about there. And reminded that there, That the bear is a mother and mothers, they protect. Piper: Dorothy Firecloud shares her favorite Lakota legends. Dorothy Firecloud: the story that I like to share is that of the White Buffalo Calf Woman. The Lakota people had been camped there at the area by the base of the tower and then sent out a couple of scouts see if they could find any buffalo or any animal. That year had a lot of drought and there weren't any animals around, and so the two scouts had gone out for that purpose. As they were walking along they saw this beautiful woman approaching them. One of the scouts saw how beautiful she was and he left it after her, wanting her as his wife. The others got recognized that she was the spirit coming to help them. She got closer, They began to visit with her. And she told them she was going to come back in four days and that they needed to go back to the drive try and explained to try that she would be coming in four days and that they needed to prepare. So the one that kept lusting after her, She called him aside and they were covered in a fog so the other scout wasn't able to see what was happening. As the cloud dissipated he saw that the other scout have been turned to a pile of bones at her feet. Then she told him go back and tell your people to be ready in four days. So he went back to the try and told them what happens and so they prepared for her arrival on the fourth day. On the fourth day she arrived they gave to him the bundle which is the sacred pipe. And she talked them the seven different ceremonies that go along with that pipe. And as she left she told on the ceremonies and these prayers for help you. As she left she walked away, she turn into a buffalo again. And she became first the black buffalo then the red buffalo then the yellow buffalo and she did it for the last time she became a white buffalo. That's the story we have the White Buffalo Calf Woman and how the pipe was given to the Lakota people. And today Arvol Looking Horse is the keeper of that sacred bundle. And he lives up on the Cheyenne River Indian reservation. When I worked as the superintendence it was great to have him come over and participate in a lot of our meetings to ensure that we were doing things properly. [music] The tower has long been a place of spiritual connection and prayer. Visitors to the tower will see personal prayers, in the prayer offerings and bundles, And clubs attached trees around the tower. The tower is also A location for sweat lodges, vision quests, And in the past funerals. Dorothy Firecloud: when people come to visit, they should come to the tower as they would when they enter a church because of the significance of the place to native people. A lot of the times people walk around the tower, You're going to see the prayer ties because that's where we go to offer a lot of the prayer ties. Prayer ties are similar to the rosary, As we make our prayer ties we have a lot of prayer clause spread-out I teach one represents a prayer as were going along, refill them with tobacco and we tie the knot. And all of our prayers are contained within those tobacco ties. And replace them at places where it will get the message to whom we need it to get it to. So when you go around the tower, You're going to see the different colors of the four directions. Sometimes it'll also see green which represents the earth, sometimes the blue which represents the sky. People need to remember that the tower is there someone as an altar for the culturally affiliated tribes to do their prayers. Piper: vision quest our ceremony of coming-of-age, To find prophecy and self-understanding, To commune with nature and spirit, one's own spirit guides and ancestors. To find truth and balance and peace. They're also used for curing emotional and physical illness. They often include long walks fasting and sleep deprivation. The tower is also a place of group prayer. In the summer, near solstice, sacred ceremonies are practice at the tower. One of these is Sundance. During the Sundance young men dance around the ball to which they are fastened, This is accompanied by traditional drama, Praying with the pipe, fasting, and sacred fire. The goal is to offer a personal sacrifice as prayer for the benefit of one's family and community. The ceremony lasts over a period of four days most of which have fasting. The Sundance was outlawed in the US in 1904 and was practiced in secret for many years. Dorothy Firecloud shares more about the history between the US government and Native American religion. Dorothy: when these places, sacred places were taken over by the federal government back in the early 1900s, Late 1800s, Native people we're not allowed to practice their religion. It wasn't until the American Indian religious freedom back was enacted in 1977 that native people were allowed to practice their religion openly and freely. So A lot of these sites that were trying to get used coming back to, native people we're not allowed to go to for ceremonial purposes. Beginning then in the late 1970s and throughout the 80s is when the tribal people started coming back to these places because they weren't afraid to be arrested. Back in the early 1900s when the act was done through Congress to ban the practice of native religions, A lot of it was done underground, Or in places that they knew that they wouldn't be cock, Or seen. So with the passage of the Native American religious freedom at, Then we were able to start going back to these places, To start getting our ceremonies back. That's only 40 years ago that we've been able to openly practice our ceremonies and our religion. Piper: sweat lodges also occurred during the summer. A sweat lodges a place of spiritual refuge and mental and physical healing. People often participate in sweat lodges before vision quests and other major rituals. A small low structure is made, One that completely blocked that light and encloses an area. At the center this area is a small pit into which hot stones are place. When the members of the sweat lodge ceremony have been appropriately smudged purified they enter the sweat lodge. Offerings such as tobacco or sweet grass are scattered on this downs to generate steam. Sweat lodges can be done in silence, Or was singing and chanting depending the leaders traditions. Gratitude and respect are two of the most important parts of this ritual. Both for Sundance, And sweat lodge, and many other ceremonies is important that the tower as a sacred place be quiet, Silence and unsullied. For this reason there is a voluntary climbing closure in the month of June when the ceremonies typically takes place, I do respect for the Native Americans and their disapproval of climbing on the tower. [music] Piper: The Native American history in America as well as Devils Tower specifically has not been a pleasant one. Many visitors today go from the tower to Custer State Park to see American Buffalo. Once these buffalo also round around the tower and were plentiful. That'll be swift pony tells us more about the fate of the Buffalo and their importance to Native Americans. Beverly: the settlers and the cattleman who were coming through here were told that the only way to totally clear this land out of the Indians was to get rid of their food source, which was the bison. And that's pretty much what they did. They were shooting them from trains. They were shooting them for sport. They were skimming them alive, laying out on the Prairie. Cutting out their times, cutting out their hearts. And that includes the Cavs. Leaving them to lie out there, To die. I can't even imagine the carnage. When I drive, And I look out there at those Perry's I try to imagine all of those bodies lying out there, The sound of them crying out. It's just heartbreaking. It was brutal, It was brutal in combination with all the other things that were going on. Not allowing us to speak our language, putting us in school, kidnapping the children putting them in their little schools to teach them Christianity, Not allowed to speak their language, not allowed to have their hair long. It's just, it's just. There's so much that I can't even, you can't just put it into a few seconds or minutes it's just outrageous. But as far as the bison is definitely a sign to me, he's American. He is us. He is who we are because without him we would've been nothing. He was our food source he was our homes, He was everything. Piper: Ida Mae Garrison shares about her own experiences and Indian school. Ida: the first year, that was a terrible time. Here I am close to home, grandma down there, she can't do anything, She's an Indian! And she can't go against that white man's word, no way. So every day that first year of my life, I go down there and look across the Missouri River toward home and I cried every day and keyed in the bed every night. For a year. And then it was over. I'm happy wherever I am, doesn't make any difference. We weren't allowed to speak any Indian. I had these two Chippewa friends, And they spent their language, And of course I was there friend and I was with them when they got caught speaking their native language. And I was punished along with them. Put us in the linen closet, We had bread and water for five days. But we had fun in there, We made our fun! We found an old blanket and unraveled the big strings, we learned all kinds of new things how to make new designs the cat in the cradle. They had a basketball tournament, and we won the tournament! But because we were Indians, we couldn't get the trophy they gave it to our loser. We'd say ‘chika like a chicka like a chell, chell, chell! Boomer like a boomer like a bow wow wow! Chicka like a boomer like a who are we? Pipestone Indian school yes sir-ee! Piper: Dorothy Firecloud shares about her own powerful experiences here at the tower. Dorothy Firecloud: being a member of the Rosebud Sioux try, I had experiences all the time that were just small personal experiences. You could feel the power of the place, I could go out on the part of the park that we reserved for the larger ceremonial activities. I just felt a piece there, Finding that piece and knowing that things are going to be okay. Piper: Beverly Swift Pony also experiences the tower in a profound spiritual way. Beverly: it is a very sacred place. I mean it's obvious to a lot of people, maybe not everyone gives that feel from it but I think the people that do they get it. They know what it is. I've had something people say to me it just draws you here, It's just like a magnet that's why people come here from all over the world to see it it's like nothing on this planet ever, there's not another one like it anywhere. It is sacred, It is very important to us. Piper: Dorothy Whitehorse DuLaune talks about the importance of the tower to the Kiowa people. Dorothy: Devils Tower is the first place any pilot goes when they go north. It's just like Mac, it's a must from every pilot I've ever spoken to, Have you ever been to Devils Tower? Because somehow in our thinking, once you've been there you're really Kiowa. We had experiences there where the rocks talk to us, and the stars are going to be with us for return it eternity, That's the main place we have references everything there. And when I went with my elders, my co-elders, We made sure that we had prayer there and you have to do it in your lifetime. Piper: George Reed Junior speaks to how for the crowd and many other people it is important that visitors respect the tower George: A lot of are sacred sites, Our historical sites they've been practically destroyed, Respect for these: Don't disturb, don't destroy, don't desecrate, and don't displace that is what I advocate .[music] Devils towers truly a sacred place. One with a long history and connection to his people. It is important that we as visitors treated with that same respect. As always, my name is Piper Lewis podcasting the tower frequency for you courtesy of Geo core and the National Parks service. For more information on Devils Tower please see our website www.nps.gov/deto our theme music was composed by Ben sound and can be found that been sounds.com thank you for listening [music]
Description
Known as Bear Lodge to many American Indians, the Tower is a sacred place to over 20 tribes. This podcast highlights Native American views and experiences related to the site.
Duration
30 minutes, 18 seconds
Credit
Piper Lewis NPS
Date Created
12/11/2014
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