Devils Tower - Sacred To Many People History:

Prior to the arrival of the Europeans, the Black Hills were a central component of the Plains Tribes religious and social life, specifically the Tower in the month of June.

All of the Plains tribes have a different name for the Tower, a variety of folk tales which accompany religious ceremonies and cultural events which occur here and an emotional attachment to the Site.

The one thing about which all of these differing tribes agree is that the Tower is a location of Divine Presence in this world and that it should be treated with the utmost of respect. Shortly after white settlers arrived in this part of Wyoming , they began climbing the Tower and in 1896, the stake ladder was built.

One of the many differences between the Native and White attitudes toward the Tower has to do with the manner in which respect is shown. This difference cannot be resolved by one dictating that the other accept an unpalatable point of view. Half measures are equally unsuccessful. The path toward peace resides in communication, and the establishment of trust and respect between the parties themselves, then respect for the Tower can truly flow forth as a product of mutually felt admiration.

One of the proposed solutions to the question of ways to show reverence of the sacred nature of the Tower has been the voluntary ban on climbing during the month of June, citing disturbance of ceremonies and prayers by climbing activity. For anyone who has visited the Tower (or any other National site during the summer) it is rarely the climbers who cause disruption, but tourists who leave their litter, bring their loud voices and uninformed attitudes. Climbing, by the nature of the activity, requires concentration, which is generally a quiet activity.

Banning climbing is a band-aid on a much larger problem ? lack of respect for another. How can this proposed understanding be achieved? We have an idea that it begins with knowledge of circumstances, dreams, attitudes, beliefs, goals, hopes, individual lives; with the recognition that we are one community and there is a part of it which experiences extreme difficulties daily.