County of marker: Crook County
Location of marker: WY-110, at base of Devils Tower inside Visitors Center
Phone at Visitor's center: (307) 467-5283
marker erected by: national Park Service, US Department of the Interior
Marker text:
WHAT DOES THE TOWER MEAN TO PEOPLE?
"It is a grand and imposing sight, and one of the remarkable physical features of the country."
-- Thomas Moran
August 1894
Traditional Lifeways
Native people have occupied the area surrounding the Tower for thousands or years. Archeological evidence indicates that Indians made stone tools at the base of the Tower and higher in the Tower slopes, perhaps while they scanned the river valley for bison, deer, and antelope.
The availability of key resources drew native people to the Tower. Springs flowed from its sides. The soaring rocks give bird's eye views of the valleys and uplands and the well-drained, protected meadows gave shelter. The Tower was not only an important stop on the journey along the Belle Fourche River, but also a landmark remembered and described. It represented a vast store of knowledge that the original peoples preserved and passed on through their elders. White Bull, a great Minneconju warrior and chief, spoke in 1934 about life at the Tower itself::
Sometimes, years ago, we would go to Bears Tipi and stay all winter, that is how the arrows and scraping knives
came to be found there. When I was two years old [ca. 1851] I spent the winter there with the Minneconjui (sic),
Itazipco and Unepapa bands. They hunted antelope, buffalo and deer; there were also black bears and grey
wolves around there. When I was fourteen years old we wintered at this place and again when I was eighteen
years old. We wintered in different places around the hill each time
The arrival of emigrants brought about a major decline in the use of the Tower and surrounding Black Hills by Northern Plains Indian tribes. The first French explorers entered the area in the 18th century followed by fur traders and the military, expanding the United States westward in the 1850s. The ensuing conflicts decimated Indian people and drove them from their traditional hunting grounds to distant reservations. In their wake, the first ranchers entered the region in 1879.
Despite the loss of their homelands, the Indian people have maintained their connection with the Tower. It remains central to their spiritual landscape.
"[T]he Tower is vital in the health of our nation and to our self-determination as a Tribe. Those who use the butte to pray become stronger. They gain sacred knowledge from the spirits that help us preserve our Lakota culture and way of life. They become leaders. Without their knowledge and leadership, we cannot continue to determine our own destiny."
-- Romanus Bear Stops
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
Early Views of the Tower
Photographers, printers, scientists accompanied 19th century expeditions into the Black Hills. In 1875, stereopricon photographs of the Tower were taken during the Newton-Jenny expedition. Many people were given the first view of the Tower at the 1876 St. Louis Fair where these photographs were exhibited.
[See Gallery]
William Jackson's photograph of the Tower taken during an 1892 expedition were displayed at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Thomas Moran's drawings from the same expedition were published in "The Century" magazine in 1893. The fame of the Tower grew.
Westward Expansion
During the 1880s, ranchers and homesteaders began to settle the region. Many people traveled considerable distances to reach the Tower for the Fourth of July celebrations, and it soon became a popular gathering place.
Anticipating the public importance of the Tower, the General Land Office took action in 1890 to prevent it from passing into private hands. The Land Office ordered that all applications for ownership be rejected. Local support grew for designating the area as a state or national park. In 1891, the U.S. Government included the Tower in its designation of a temporary forest service, which paved the way for its later designation as a national monument.