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Lakota Tribe Research Paper

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People are climbing on the Lakota tribe’s sacred tower. Devils Tower is in the Black Hills in Wyoming and is the first National Monument in the U.S. (Leonard). It rises 1,267 feet above the surrounding and is 5,114 feet above sea level (Devils Tower National Monument). Despite its significance to the Native Americans, particularly the Lakota tribe, many people visit this National Monument. Some visitors also climb the Tower. The Lakota tribe members have been living in the Black Hills for many years and perform many ceremonies at the Tower. Like many sacred places in Native American tribes, they have a myth about how the Tower came to be. According to James LaPointe, three girls wandered off while they were marching along the Black Hills to gather fruits. Hungry bears chased the girls when something said “Paha akili,” and the ground began to rise. The girls were saved as the ground grew to be the Tower and the …show more content…

The Native American tribes lived on their land for many generations and their religion and culture is inextricably intertwined with the land (Freedman). For the Lakota tribe specifically, the Tower “has been a location of spiritual significance [. . .] throughout their history” (“Devils Tower”). They have many rituals that are performed on the land and it ties them to the land. The Lakota tribe has performed their sacred ritual of the Sun Dance ceremony during the summer solstice at the Tower for the past 10,000 years (Yablon). This shows how the Tower is of extreme importance to the Native Americans. Since the Lakota have been on the land for many years and performed their ceremonies, they “feel a sacred sense of attachment to the monument that permeates their entire being. It is a holy site” (Dustin). Despite being a sacred site to the Native Americans, not everyone treats it with

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