Pipestone National Monument
Encyclopedia
Pipestone National Monument is located in southwestern Minnesota
, just north of the city of Pipestone, Minnesota
. It is located along the highways of U.S. Route 75
, Minnesota State Highway 23
and Minnesota State Highway 30
.
The catlinite
, or "pipestone", has been traditionally used to make ceremonial pipes
, vitally important to traditional Plains Indian
religious practices. The quarries are sacred to the Dakota
, Lakota, and other tribes of Native American
s, and were neutral territory where all Nations could quarry stone for ceremonial pipes. The Sioux tribes may have taken control of the quarries around 1700, but the Minnesota pipestone has been found inside North American burial mounds dating from long before that, and ancient Indian trails leading to the area suggest pipestone may have been quarried there for many centuries.
As the United States
grew westward in the nineteenth century, pipes found their way into white society through trade
. To protect their source, the Yankton Sioux secured free and unrestricted access via The Treaty With The Yankton Sioux, which was signed on April 19, 1858.
The land was acquired by the federal government in 1893. In 1928, the Yankton Sioux, then resettled on a reservation
150 miles (241.4 km) away, sold their claim to the federal government. The National Monument
was established by an act of Congress on August 25, 1937, and the establishing legislation restored quarrying rights to the Indians. Today only people of Native American ancestry are allowed to quarry the pipestone. A boundary change occurred on June 18, 1956. As an historic area under the National Park Service
it was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places
under the heading "Cannomok'e—Pipestone National Monument". The Red Pipestone Quarries within the monument comprise a Minnesota State Historic Site.
During the summer months, there are cultural demonstrations at the monument. The Upper Midwest Indian Cultural Center, located inside the visitor center, sponsors demonstrations of pipemaking by native craftworkers using the stone from the quarries
. Local Native Americans carve the stones using techniques passed down from their ancestors. Many of the demonstrators are third or fourth generation pipe makers.
Visitors can also walk along a three-quarter mile (1.2 km) self-guided trail to view the pipestone quarries and a waterfall. A trail guide is available at the visitor center. About 260 acres (1.1 km²) of the national monument has been restored to native tallgrass prairie. Monument staff burn prairie parcels on a rotating basis to control weeds and stimulate growth of native grasses. A larger area of restored tallgrass prairie and a small Bison herd are maintained by the Minnesota DNR at Blue Mounds State Park
, 20 miles (32.2 km) to the south.
The visitor center features exhibits about the natural and cultural history of the site, including a petroglyph
display. There is also an orientation video about the history of the pipestone quarries.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, just north of the city of Pipestone, Minnesota
Pipestone, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,280 people, 1,900 households, and 1,138 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,090.8 people per square mile . There were 2,097 housing units at an average density of 534.4 per square mile...
. It is located along the highways of U.S. Route 75
U.S. Route 75
U.S. Route 75 is a north–south U.S. Highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Kittson County, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it continues as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side of a closed border crossing. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 30 and Interstate 45 in Dallas,...
, Minnesota State Highway 23
Minnesota State Highway 23
Minnesota State Highway 23 is a state highway that stretches from southwest to northeast Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1....
and Minnesota State Highway 30
Minnesota State Highway 30
Minnesota State Highway 30 is a highway in southwest and southeast Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 34 at the South Dakota state line near Airlie and Pipestone, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with Minnesota Highway 43 in Rushford.Highway 30 is in...
.
The catlinite
Catlinite
Catlinite is a type of argillite , usually brownish-red in color, which occurs in a matrix of Sioux quartzite. Because it is fine-grained and easily worked, it is prized by Native Americans for use in making sacred pipes such as calumets and chanunpas...
, or "pipestone", has been traditionally used to make ceremonial pipes
Calumet (pipe)
A Calumet is a ceremonial smoking pipe used by some Native American Nations. Traditionally it has been smoked to seal a covenant or treaty, or to offer prayers in a religious ceremony.- Etymology :...
, vitally important to traditional Plains Indian
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...
religious practices. The quarries are sacred to the Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
, Lakota, and other tribes of Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
s, and were neutral territory where all Nations could quarry stone for ceremonial pipes. The Sioux tribes may have taken control of the quarries around 1700, but the Minnesota pipestone has been found inside North American burial mounds dating from long before that, and ancient Indian trails leading to the area suggest pipestone may have been quarried there for many centuries.
As the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
grew westward in the nineteenth century, pipes found their way into white society through trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
. To protect their source, the Yankton Sioux secured free and unrestricted access via The Treaty With The Yankton Sioux, which was signed on April 19, 1858.
The land was acquired by the federal government in 1893. In 1928, the Yankton Sioux, then resettled on a reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
150 miles (241.4 km) away, sold their claim to the federal government. The National Monument
U.S. National Monument
A National Monument in the United States is a protected area that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress. National monuments receive less funding and...
was established by an act of Congress on August 25, 1937, and the establishing legislation restored quarrying rights to the Indians. Today only people of Native American ancestry are allowed to quarry the pipestone. A boundary change occurred on June 18, 1956. As an historic area under the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
it was administratively listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
under the heading "Cannomok'e—Pipestone National Monument". The Red Pipestone Quarries within the monument comprise a Minnesota State Historic Site.
During the summer months, there are cultural demonstrations at the monument. The Upper Midwest Indian Cultural Center, located inside the visitor center, sponsors demonstrations of pipemaking by native craftworkers using the stone from the quarries
Quarry
A quarry is a type of open-pit mine from which rock or minerals are extracted. Quarries are generally used for extracting building materials, such as dimension stone, construction aggregate, riprap, sand, and gravel. They are often collocated with concrete and asphalt plants due to the requirement...
. Local Native Americans carve the stones using techniques passed down from their ancestors. Many of the demonstrators are third or fourth generation pipe makers.
Visitors can also walk along a three-quarter mile (1.2 km) self-guided trail to view the pipestone quarries and a waterfall. A trail guide is available at the visitor center. About 260 acres (1.1 km²) of the national monument has been restored to native tallgrass prairie. Monument staff burn prairie parcels on a rotating basis to control weeds and stimulate growth of native grasses. A larger area of restored tallgrass prairie and a small Bison herd are maintained by the Minnesota DNR at Blue Mounds State Park
Blue Mounds State Park
Blue Mounds State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, in Rock County near the town of Luverne. It protects an American bison herd which grazes on one of the state's largest prairie remnants....
, 20 miles (32.2 km) to the south.
The visitor center features exhibits about the natural and cultural history of the site, including a petroglyph
Petroglyph
Petroglyphs are pictogram and logogram images created by removing part of a rock surface by incising, picking, carving, and abrading. Outside North America, scholars often use terms such as "carving", "engraving", or other descriptions of the technique to refer to such images...
display. There is also an orientation video about the history of the pipestone quarries.
External links
- Official NPS website: Pipestone National Monument
- National Monument Holds Ancient Pipestone Quarries (travel article)