Devils Tower is on the northwestern edge of the Black Hills and is known as Mato Tipila, or Bear's Lodge, in Lakota. A Lakota account of its origin goes as follows: A band of Lakota was camping in the Black Hills region. One day, two little girls wandered away from the camp and found themselves lost. They were followed and then chased by some bears. As they were running, a voice spoke to the girls, instructing them to climb on top of a small knoll. The girls huddled on top of the knoll and hid their faces from the bears that were climbing up after them. Suddenly the earth began to shudder and groan and the strange voice commanded the knoll to grow. It rose out of the ground and carried the girls high into the air. As the mound rose higher and higher, the bears growled in frustration and clawed at the side, but failed to reach the girls. The children were safe but knew not how to get down again. The strange voice appeared again, telling them to befriend the birds. Many birds appeared. In the meantime, molten rocks were pouring down the sides of the tower, burying the bears. The girls each climbed upon a bird's back and were carried back to the safety of their band's camp. The voice had been that of Lakota culture hero Fallen Star, who, by that time, had returned to his home in the skies.
The Minneconjou warrior White Bull provided another version of the origins of Devils Tower. Some Lakota still maintain the buffalo skull remains on the top of Devils Tower. If it is no longer there then it is considered to have been stolen or at least removed:
"In the Sioux tribe long ago, there was a brave warrior who often went alone into the wilderness where he would fast and worship the Great Spirit in solitude. […] One day this warrior took his buffalo skull and went alone into the wilderness to worship. Standing at the base of Mato Tipila after he had worshipped for two days, he suddenly found himself on top of this high rock. He was very much frightened as he did not know how he would get down. After appealing to the Great Spirit, he went to sleep. When he awoke. He was very glad to find that he was again at the base of this high rock. He saw that he was standing at the door of a big bear's lodge, as there were footprints of a very big bear there. He could tell that the cracks in the big rock were made by the big bear's claws. So he knew that all the time he had been on top of this big rock, he had been standing on a big bear's lodge. From this time on, his nation called this rock Mato Tipila and they went there to worship. The buffalo skull is still on top of this big, high rock" (in Gunderson 1988: 51, 53).1
Notes::
Site, Page and Article © Copyright 2002 by Bornali Halder