Welcome to Mato Tipila, which in Lakota translates to Bear Lodge. While most think of the Black Hills as being in South Dakota, there is a part of the same complex in Wyoming, wherein this sacred site lies on the western edge.
Many (older) folks know it as "that place" featured in the 1977 movie "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" by Steven Spielberg. Of the many indigenous tribes that held this landmark sacred, there are just as many variations on the legend of how it was created. The Cliff Notes version of the Lakota story is that there were 7 sisters being chased by a bear, and they climbed atop a giant stump that grew and grew, carrying them from the attacking bruin. It grew tall enough to keep the sisters safe from the bear's mighty paw, which continually reached up for them, clawing down the side of the mountain creating the texture we see today. Too, I'm not sure there is any more of a sacred 'chapter' in Lakota history than the arrival of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe given to White Buffalo Calf Woman...which, according to legend, took place at Mato Tipila, as well.
White Man called it Devil's Tower, for a reason not really known. Tribal interests have been wanting the rightful name returned to what is now a National Park, but you can figure where the rest of that story goes...part of our ugly on-going antics that are ultimately tied to dollars, pride, and ego of a dominant culture. But I digress. The rocks are cool...Mato Tipila is what's left of a neck of basaltic rock from an extinct volcano..."polygonal contraction" is the fancy phrase assigned to basalt's cooling properties, where in the solidification process polygonal tubes form and crack/erode along the joints.
The paved Loop Trail circumvents the mountain allowing varying views at different times of day and sun angles. Your neck does get a little tired always looking up, I'll admit. As is the case with any 'experience', it is especially meaningful to understand the history and culture of an area before you visit it...so, as the wind whispers through the evergreens, you can imagine what this place was like prior to western man's footprints...the awe, the power, the sacredness...and an opportunity to give thanks and honor those that went before us a looooong time ago...
Very close by are these well-known and named "Red Beds" that surround the area and the Bell Fourche River Valley. In the foreground pictured below is wild sage, one of the four sacred herbs to Native Americans that once dried is used ceremonially to cleanse a space of any evil spirits that might be hanging around, helping make things pure again. It works.
To not address the issue of the on-going clash between sacred aboriginal interests and that of modern society would be a disservice to this mountain. Rock climbers love it. Tribes hate it, feeling that the hammering of metal into their sacred 'sanctuary' and climbing all over it desecrates its holiness...nothing less than letting people scale the National Cathedral in DC to get a better view on a pretty day. During the summer there is a month's voluntary ceasing of such activities so that the native tribes can carry out annual ceremonies and traditions there, as they used to do through the centuries. It's a start, at least.
It's the kind of place I would have liked to camp near for the night, so I could explore various areas at different times of the day. I did go post-tourist season, which made the experience even nicer, but being a National Park there are strict limits to pets, and my (then) "Two Amigos" were always aboard the "K9 LIMO" (my car's license plate, then).
Walk softly upon this earth, and give daily thanks...always remembering that we are stewards of Nature, not masters over it.
My "MATO TIPILA" video postcard on YouTube
Many (older) folks know it as "that place" featured in the 1977 movie "Close Encounters Of The Third Kind" by Steven Spielberg. Of the many indigenous tribes that held this landmark sacred, there are just as many variations on the legend of how it was created. The Cliff Notes version of the Lakota story is that there were 7 sisters being chased by a bear, and they climbed atop a giant stump that grew and grew, carrying them from the attacking bruin. It grew tall enough to keep the sisters safe from the bear's mighty paw, which continually reached up for them, clawing down the side of the mountain creating the texture we see today. Too, I'm not sure there is any more of a sacred 'chapter' in Lakota history than the arrival of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe given to White Buffalo Calf Woman...which, according to legend, took place at Mato Tipila, as well.
White Man called it Devil's Tower, for a reason not really known. Tribal interests have been wanting the rightful name returned to what is now a National Park, but you can figure where the rest of that story goes...part of our ugly on-going antics that are ultimately tied to dollars, pride, and ego of a dominant culture. But I digress. The rocks are cool...Mato Tipila is what's left of a neck of basaltic rock from an extinct volcano..."polygonal contraction" is the fancy phrase assigned to basalt's cooling properties, where in the solidification process polygonal tubes form and crack/erode along the joints.
The paved Loop Trail circumvents the mountain allowing varying views at different times of day and sun angles. Your neck does get a little tired always looking up, I'll admit. As is the case with any 'experience', it is especially meaningful to understand the history and culture of an area before you visit it...so, as the wind whispers through the evergreens, you can imagine what this place was like prior to western man's footprints...the awe, the power, the sacredness...and an opportunity to give thanks and honor those that went before us a looooong time ago...
Very close by are these well-known and named "Red Beds" that surround the area and the Bell Fourche River Valley. In the foreground pictured below is wild sage, one of the four sacred herbs to Native Americans that once dried is used ceremonially to cleanse a space of any evil spirits that might be hanging around, helping make things pure again. It works.
To not address the issue of the on-going clash between sacred aboriginal interests and that of modern society would be a disservice to this mountain. Rock climbers love it. Tribes hate it, feeling that the hammering of metal into their sacred 'sanctuary' and climbing all over it desecrates its holiness...nothing less than letting people scale the National Cathedral in DC to get a better view on a pretty day. During the summer there is a month's voluntary ceasing of such activities so that the native tribes can carry out annual ceremonies and traditions there, as they used to do through the centuries. It's a start, at least.
It's the kind of place I would have liked to camp near for the night, so I could explore various areas at different times of the day. I did go post-tourist season, which made the experience even nicer, but being a National Park there are strict limits to pets, and my (then) "Two Amigos" were always aboard the "K9 LIMO" (my car's license plate, then).
Walk softly upon this earth, and give daily thanks...always remembering that we are stewards of Nature, not masters over it.My "MATO TIPILA" video postcard on YouTube
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