#bears tipi

A stunning sight in every season, Devils Tower National Monument-Official NPS site rises above the rolling grasslands in eastern Wyoming like a sentinel. Northern Plains Tribes have lived and held ceremonies near this remarkable geologic formation for thousands of years. The rock remains of an ancient volcano, the majestic tower was called “Bear’s Lodge” and “Bear’s Tipi” by the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Crow and Lakota tribes. Made famous in the 1977 movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” the monument holds an undeniable attraction to many people. Photo courtesy of John Steitz.

For thousands of years, indigenous people have come to Bears Lodge to pray. They leave these prayer bundles, flags and small blankets on the trees around the tower. There are still a lot of ceremonies and special events that occur around Bear Lodge every year in Sioux and Cheyenne native communities.

a close up of the stones with the green moss that gives Bears Lodge its unique colors

The Cheyenne version of the story of Bears Lodge / Devils Tower describes a giant bear chasing a group of girls and killing most of them off. Two sisters escape and run home to their xommunity where they meet up with two boys. They tell the boys that the bear can only be killed by shooting an arrow through the bottom of its foot. They lead the bear up Devils Tower, trying to shoot an arrow through its foot as it attempts to claw its way up the tower. Finally when an arrow almost hits the paw of the bear, he’s scared away. The last arrow the boys had shot contunued up into the sky, never falling back down.

Another version of the indigenous legend of Bears Lodge describes a huge bear named Mato, who had claws the size of tipi poles. He spotted two sioux boys and ran at them, hoping to eat them for breakfast. The boys prayed to the Creator and they were risen up on a huge rock. Mato clawed the side of the rock trying to get at them, but he eventually gave up and retreated to the Bear Butte at the Black Hills. An eagle named Wanblee rescued the two boys from the top of the rock.