Devils Tower National Monument

Devils Tower is a 600 foot tall solitary, stump-shaped natural rock tower located in Northeast Wyoming. President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the park the tower resides in to be the U.S.A’s first national monument in 1906. The rock tower is about 1,000 feet in diameter at the bottom and 275 feet in diameter at the top.

The markings on the mountain are a basis for a variety of Native American legends. One such legend is that the tower rose from the ground beneath two Indian sisters when they were being chased by a giant bear. It protected the sisters from the bear, which clawed the grooves into the mountainside.

The markings on the mountain are a basis for a variety of Native American legends. One such legend is that the tower rose from the ground beneath two Indian sisters when they were being chased by a giant bear. It protected the sisters from the bear, which clawed the grooves into the mountainside.

Unfortunately, Devils Tower is also a popular site for rock climbing. Plains Indians conduct many religious services in June, but this is also a popular rock climbing time due to the amiable weather. This resulted in conflict between rock climbers and Native Americans. Native Americans feel that climbing should be prohibited at the site either permanently or during that month, while some climbers feel this would unfairly restrict their use of public lands. As a result of this conflict, the National Park Service began a voluntary climbing hiatus program at Devils Tower in 1995. The voluntary climbing hiatus program asks climbers not to rock climb in the month of June, but also does not prohibit them from doing so. Several rock climbers did not like this program and filed a lawsuit arguing that the Park Service's actions violate the First Amendment. The Court of Appeals dismissed the lawsuit on the basis that the rock climbers did not have standing to challenge the regulations since they had not shown how they were injured by the regulations.

Devils Tower is steeped in Native American legend and is a sacred location for the religious ceremonies of Plains Indians. Different tribes have different connections with the tower. Some examples of this are the following:

• The Arapahoe have ancestors who are buried near the tower.
• The Cheyenne’s cultural hero Sweet Medicine died and was buried there.
• The Crow people have a long history of fasting and worshiping there and building small stone “dream houses” as part of their vision quests.
• The Kiowa have oral histories that link the tower with their astronomical knowledge.
• The Lakota have done the following:
• They have had winter camp there as far back as 1816.
• They fasted, prayed, left offerings, worshiped the "Great Mystery” (or their term for the sacred or divine), and performed sweatlodge ceremonies there.
• They conducted healing ceremonies by a healing shaman.
• They performed vision quests.
• They also traditionally held their sacred Sun Dance at Devils Tower around the summer solstice.

*vision quest: an activity that provides spiritual power, social standing, bravery, and life purpose to those who partake in it

We suggest that you do NOT visit Devils Tower, especially in the month of June. In the past centuries, Plains Indians have conducted private ceremonies at Devils Tower. Not only would it be intrusive to visit in that regard, but there have been many instances where visitors and rock climbers have in fact disrupted the ceremonies. According to Looking Horse, a Lakota Native American spiritual leader, "Climbers make lots of noise and come near our people when they are praying. By doing this, they disturb our efforts to obtain spiritual guidance. When climbers hammer objects into the butte, it is like they are pounding stakes into our bodies". If you do choose to visit, please do not visit in June.

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