In the Light of Reverence - Devils Tower

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Devils Tower, made famous by Steven Spielberg in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, is one of the premier climbing challenges in the world. For the Lakota, and other tribes of the northern plains who perform sun dances and vision quests nearby, solitude and silence are disturbed by the presence of rock climbers, whose culture dictates that the tower be used for personal adventure, not communal prayers.

Lakota scholar Vine Deloria, Jr., an intellectual guide through this complex terrain, says, 'It's not that Indians should have exclusive rights at Devils Tower. It's that that location is sacred enough so that it should have time of its own. And once it has had time of its own, then the people who know how to do ceremonies should come and minister to it. That's so hard to get across to people.' Many Americans, not just Indians, recognize the natural world's inherent spirit and vitality, and are working to protect it and provide for a new way of seeing the Earth and our relationship to it.

Across the USA, Native Americans are struggling to protect their sacred places. Religious freedom, so valued in America, is not guaranteed to those who practice land-based religion. Every year, more sacred sites - the land-based equivalent of the world's great cathedrals - are being destroyed. Strip Mining and development cause much of the destruction. But rock climbers, tourists, and New Age religious practitioners are part of the problem, too. The biggest problem is ignorance.

DEVILS TOWER, part of the IN THE LIGHT OF REVERENCE Classroom Series, tells the story of the Lakota, an indigenous community of the Great Plains, and the land they struggle to protect.

'This beautifully-crafted film shows how the places most sacred to Native Americans are being both disrespected and destroyed, and how Indians are fighting back to save their own religious heritage. This film is a wake-up call for everyone who cares about the environment and human rights and deserves every opportunity to reach a broad and diverse audience.' Robert Redford

'For those who know nothing about the denial of Native American religious freedom, this film will change minds and open hearts. For those of us already involved in the struggle to save sacred land, this film will energize and inspire.' Walter Echo-Hawk, Native American Rights Fund

'The film clearly articulates some of the issues indigenous peoples all over the world face as they struggle to prevent their spiritual beliefs from being marginalized by people who believe spiritual places are structures built by men, not the Creator.' Wilma Mankiller, author and former Principal Chief of Cherokee Nation

'This respectful, brave, and understated film, which urges the redress of profound historical errors, is itself an act of reparation. In the Light of Reverence reaches beyond cultural disputes to reveal and document the arena of human wisdom.' Barry Lopez

'The Middle East may get the headlines, but there are battles involving sacred ground in the United States, too, as nicely documented by In the Light of Reverence, on PBS.' The New York Times

'In the Light of Reverence shines a beam on the fundamental differences between two world views, one based on individual rights - including the right to exploit the land for profit - the other, on responsibility to a community that includes people, ancestral spirits and the spirits of the forest and mountains themselves.' Sara Jean Green, Seattle Times

'Highly recommended...' MC Journal

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Main credits

McLeod, Christopher (film director)
McLeod, Christopher (film producer)
Abbe, Jessica (screenwriter)
Coyote, Peter (narrator)
Cardinal, Tantoo (narrator)

Other credits

Video and cinematography, Will Parinello [and 3 others]; editor, Will Parinello; original score, Jon Herbst.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

native americans, light, reverence, religion, land, environment, human rights, social studies, indigenous people, Lakota, Devils Tower,"Devils Tower",Bullfrog Films

WEBVTT

00:00:45.292 --> 00:00:45.918
NARRATOR:

00:00:45.919 --> 00:00:49.583
All over America, for
500 years, native people

00:00:49.584 --> 00:00:54.541
have struggled to protect their
sacred places: burial grounds

00:00:54.542 --> 00:00:58.082
where ancestors
rest, sanctuaries

00:00:58.083 --> 00:01:03.166
for medicinal plants, landscapes
of unusual natural power,

00:01:03.167 --> 00:01:05.998
sources of prophecy.

00:01:05.999 --> 00:01:12.125
Native Americans are still
losing ground... sacred ground.

00:01:22.999 --> 00:01:23.667
CHRIS PETERS:

00:01:23.668 --> 00:01:27.416
The first Americans,
the indigenous peoples

00:01:27.417 --> 00:01:32.333
who have lived and occupied this
land for eons and eons of time,

00:01:32.334 --> 00:01:36.999
are being deprived of a central
principle on which the United

00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.625
States of America
was established,

00:01:39.626 --> 00:01:40.998
that of religious freedom.

00:01:40.999 --> 00:01:41.918
WILLIAM PERRY PENDLEY:

00:01:41.919 --> 00:01:43.998
These people are
true believers who

00:01:43.999 --> 00:01:45.998
want to engage in a
religious practice.

00:01:45.999 --> 00:01:48.374
The problem is, this
is federal land.

00:01:48.375 --> 00:01:48.999
FLORENCE JONES:

00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:53.082
This is my church.

00:01:53.083 --> 00:01:56.917
I don\'t go down to you white
people\'s church and go in there

00:01:56.918 --> 00:01:57.998
and raise hell.

00:01:57.999 --> 00:01:58.459
ED MORGAN:

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They have the right to
come up here and worship.

00:02:00.459 --> 00:02:02.666
They have the right to
do anything anybody else

00:02:02.667 --> 00:02:03.998
does on the public lands.

00:02:03.999 --> 00:02:05.959
But so do we have
the right to mine.

00:02:08.501 --> 00:02:08.999
VINE DELORIA:

00:02:09.000 --> 00:02:12.291
The irony of the situation is
that you can go on public land

00:02:12.292 --> 00:02:15.500
to ski, you can go on public
lands to strip a mountain

00:02:15.501 --> 00:02:23.501
and leave a cyanide pool, but
you cannot go on public lands

00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:36.000
to pray for the earth and
its continued fertility.

00:02:36.667 --> 00:02:37.042
STORYTELLER:

00:02:37.043 --> 00:02:43.917
A long time ago, the sun and
Spiderwoman created the earth.

00:02:43.918 --> 00:02:47.998
With her saliva
Spiderwoman molded clay,

00:02:47.999 --> 00:02:55.999
breathed spirit into it, and
gave birth to the people.

00:03:02.417 --> 00:03:10.417
Then, she taught them how
to care for land and life.

00:03:16.167 --> 00:03:16.792
NARRATOR:

00:03:16.793 --> 00:03:19.041
For most Americans,
the Holy Land

00:03:19.042 --> 00:03:20.998
exists on another continent.

00:03:20.999 --> 00:03:25.958
But for Native Americans,
the holy land is here.

00:03:25.959 --> 00:03:28.750
On public land and
on private property,

00:03:28.751 --> 00:03:32.875
Native Americans are fighting
for hundreds of sites.

00:03:32.876 --> 00:03:37.458
This is the story of three
communities: the Lakota, Hopi,

00:03:37.459 --> 00:03:43.458
and Wintu, and the places
they care for?????? threatened

00:03:43.459 --> 00:03:47.249
by mineral extraction,
recreational uses,

00:03:47.250 --> 00:03:48.750
and competing religions.

00:03:48.751 --> 00:03:49.167
VINE DELORIA:

00:03:49.168 --> 00:03:57.168
If you look at the earth, there
are certain places that seem

00:03:59.876 --> 00:04:03.082
to have power and we don\'t
know what kind of power it is,

00:04:03.083 --> 00:04:05.998
except you have a different
feeling, you feel energized...

00:04:05.999 --> 00:04:06.459
VINE DELORIA:

00:04:06.460 --> 00:04:14.460
and that\'s why a lot
of the ceremonies are:

00:04:16.709 --> 00:04:21.249
you simply go out into the
land at a certain place under

00:04:21.250 --> 00:04:24.998
supervision of a medicine
man and open yourself up.

00:04:24.999 --> 00:04:27.998
And what I think is powerful
about these religions

00:04:27.999 --> 00:04:30.998
is you can continue
to have revelations.

00:04:30.999 --> 00:04:33.791
All the revelation
is telling you

00:04:33.792 --> 00:04:37.999
is how you and your community,
at this time in life,

00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:40.998
can adjust to the
rest of the world.

00:04:40.999 --> 00:04:48.999
So, it\'s not like we
designated a place and said,

00:04:49.417 --> 00:04:53.541
\"This is going to be sacred.\"

00:04:53.542 --> 00:04:55.998
It came out of a
lot of experience.

00:04:55.999 --> 00:05:01.998
The idea is not to pretend
to own it, not to exploit it,

00:05:01.999 --> 00:05:03.998
but to respect it.

00:05:03.999 --> 00:05:08.041
Trying to get people to see that
that\'s a dimension of religion

00:05:08.042 --> 00:05:09.791
is really difficult.

00:05:09.792 --> 00:05:10.501
JOHNSON HOLY ROCK:

00:05:10.502 --> 00:05:18.502
The Black Hills was
the center of life.

00:05:22.999 --> 00:05:27.249
If a man was dying,
he was starving,

00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:30.541
he was poor in
spirit and in body,

00:05:30.542 --> 00:05:32.998
and he went into
the Black Hills,

00:05:32.999 --> 00:05:35.750
the next spring
he would come out

00:05:35.751 --> 00:05:38.333
of there in excellent health.

00:05:38.334 --> 00:05:41.333
His life and body
would be renewed.

00:05:41.334 --> 00:05:44.625
So to our grandfathers,
the Black Hills

00:05:44.626 --> 00:05:48.500
was the center of life
and all around it,

00:05:48.501 --> 00:05:53.750
those areas that were
considered sacred,

00:05:53.751 --> 00:05:58.541
were kept in the
light of reverence.

00:05:58.542 --> 00:05:59.042
JOE MORRISETTE:

00:05:59.043 --> 00:06:00.750
OK, right over there Eric.

00:06:00.751 --> 00:06:02.416
Go stand by Marvy.

00:06:02.417 --> 00:06:04.998
All the lead runners
over here with Marvy.

00:06:04.999 --> 00:06:10.166
C\'mon you guys, let\'s
get on the road!

00:06:10.167 --> 00:06:10.792
NARRATOR:

00:06:10.793 --> 00:06:14.541
Each summer, Lakota runners
circle the Black Hills...

00:06:14.542 --> 00:06:16.416
500 miles in 5 days.

00:06:16.417 --> 00:06:23.583
The runners follow the
course of a mythic footrace

00:06:23.584 --> 00:06:25.998
between the two-legged
and four-legged animals

00:06:25.999 --> 00:06:30.208
to determine who would be
the strongest and the wisest.

00:06:30.209 --> 00:06:33.998
Now, the humans run to
renew their spiritual claim

00:06:33.999 --> 00:06:36.666
to land they never gave up.

00:06:36.667 --> 00:06:44.667
One of the most important sites
on the Run of the Sacred Hoop

00:06:44.751 --> 00:06:48.541
is Mato Tipila, or
the Lodge of the Bear.

00:06:48.542 --> 00:06:49.000
ELAINE QUIVER:

00:06:49.001 --> 00:06:55.208
Mato Tipila is like a beacon
in the ocean, the lighthouse.

00:06:55.209 --> 00:06:58.541
And one of the things
that really inspires me

00:06:58.542 --> 00:07:03.166
is the quiet serenity
of that area.

00:07:03.167 --> 00:07:03.999
OFF-CAMERA CLIMBER:

00:07:03.999 --> 00:07:04.999
Climbing...

00:07:06.999 --> 00:07:07.667
ANDY PETEFISH:

00:07:07.668 --> 00:07:10.028
Just tell her you\'re the
reincarnation of Sitting Bull.

00:07:11.999 --> 00:07:12.667
ELAINE QUIVER:

00:07:12.668 --> 00:07:14.833
My grandmother
said, \"This is where

00:07:14.834 --> 00:07:18.249
they have the vision
in the month of June.\"

00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:20.374
And she said,
\"Everything comes back

00:07:20.375 --> 00:07:21.998
to life in the month of June.

00:07:21.999 --> 00:07:25.998
And this is where we should
all get together and renew

00:07:25.999 --> 00:07:28.998
our own life.\"

00:07:28.999 --> 00:07:29.584
NARRATOR:

00:07:29.585 --> 00:07:32.041
For the Lakota, the
Tower was created

00:07:32.042 --> 00:07:35.500
to save a group of children
fleeing an angry bear.

00:07:35.501 --> 00:07:38.542
For most people, it was
created by Hollywood.

00:07:41.042 --> 00:07:44.917
After the Tower was popularized
as a magnet for space aliens

00:07:44.918 --> 00:07:48.124
and their human followers,
the numbers of annual visitors

00:07:48.125 --> 00:07:50.374
doubled.

00:07:50.375 --> 00:07:55.666
Then, the sport of climbing
experienced a population

00:07:55.667 --> 00:07:56.791
explosion.

00:07:56.792 --> 00:07:59.666
The National Park Service
confronted the issue

00:07:59.667 --> 00:08:02.082
of crowds of rock
climbers on a place

00:08:02.083 --> 00:08:05.833
considered sacred
to Plains Indians.

00:08:05.834 --> 00:08:09.124
In 1995, the Park
Service asked climbers

00:08:09.125 --> 00:08:13.416
to voluntarily stay off Devils
Tower during the month of June,

00:08:13.417 --> 00:08:16.998
and tried to ban climbing
with hired guides.

00:08:16.999 --> 00:08:20.998
Commercial guide Andy Petefish,
represented by the Mountain

00:08:20.999 --> 00:08:24.249
States Legal Foundation,
sued the Park Service,

00:08:24.250 --> 00:08:26.875
challenging the proposed ban.

00:08:26.876 --> 00:08:27.792
WILLIAM PERRY PENDLEY:

00:08:27.793 --> 00:08:28.998
This is not private land.

00:08:28.999 --> 00:08:29.999
This is federal land.

00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:34.791
It is set aside by the
Congress for the enjoyment

00:08:34.792 --> 00:08:35.917
of the American people.

00:08:35.918 --> 00:08:37.998
And people go there
for that reason.

00:08:37.999 --> 00:08:40.998
And now, the Park Service
comes in and says, \"Well, it\'s

00:08:40.999 --> 00:08:42.708
not totally open.\"

00:08:42.709 --> 00:08:45.833
A whole part of the reason
for its establishment

00:08:45.834 --> 00:08:47.875
is closed off to people
because, unless they

00:08:47.876 --> 00:08:49.041
practice a certain faith.

00:08:49.042 --> 00:08:53.541
And I think that\'s a
very dangerous precedent.

00:08:53.542 --> 00:08:54.042
ANDY PETEFISH:

00:08:54.043 --> 00:08:57.708
To me, climbing lifts my spirits
more than any other activity

00:08:57.709 --> 00:08:59.500
that I\'ve ever participated in.

00:08:59.501 --> 00:09:01.791
When I climb the tower,
and I get up on top there

00:09:01.792 --> 00:09:03.998
and I\'m fully
engaged with nature.

00:09:03.999 --> 00:09:07.917
I\'m actually feeling it and
touching it and wedging my body

00:09:07.918 --> 00:09:09.666
into it...

00:09:09.667 --> 00:09:10.167
FRANK SANDERS:

00:09:10.168 --> 00:09:13.625
I\'VE RECEIVED THE
CRITICISM OF: I am climbing

00:09:13.626 --> 00:09:15.750
on someone\'s church.

00:09:15.751 --> 00:09:20.374
I don\'t mean to offend
anybody, but if there\'s

00:09:20.375 --> 00:09:23.333
a climbing ban
that\'s put in effect,

00:09:23.334 --> 00:09:27.458
then I\'m being locked
out of my church.

00:09:27.459 --> 00:09:30.833
I think the church
ought to be open.

00:09:30.834 --> 00:09:31.958
Hey, good morning Brenda.

00:09:31.959 --> 00:09:32.209
How you doing?

00:09:32.209 --> 00:09:32.834
RANGER:

00:09:32.835 --> 00:09:33.875
Good, how are you?

00:09:33.876 --> 00:09:33.916
FRANK SANDERS:

00:09:33.917 --> 00:09:36.208
Well, it\'s another day of
climbing, so it can\'t be bad,

00:09:36.209 --> 00:09:36.959
can it?

00:09:36.959 --> 00:09:36.957
RANGER:

00:09:36.958 --> 00:09:37.834
\'Course not.

00:09:37.835 --> 00:09:39.625
We close off the
tower to climbing

00:09:39.626 --> 00:09:40.666
during the month of June.

00:09:40.667 --> 00:09:41.917
It\'s a voluntary closure.

00:09:41.918 --> 00:09:44.041
We ask you not to out of
respect for the American

00:09:44.042 --> 00:09:47.416
Indians and the ceremonies that
they come and do, especially

00:09:47.417 --> 00:09:49.041
around the time of
the summer solstice.

00:09:49.042 --> 00:09:51.625
Sundances take place here,
vision quests and sweat

00:09:51.626 --> 00:09:52.998
lodges as well.

00:09:52.999 --> 00:09:55.625
So, I would like you
to read this and decide

00:09:55.626 --> 00:09:56.708
whether you want to climb.

00:09:56.709 --> 00:09:59.291
If you decide that you do
want to, I\'ll give you a card

00:09:59.292 --> 00:10:00.998
and you\'re more than
welcome to go up.

00:10:00.999 --> 00:10:00.999
FRANK SANDERS:

00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:01.999
Are we ready?

00:10:01.999 --> 00:10:01.997
OTHER CLIMBER:

00:10:01.998 --> 00:10:02.584
Yes sir.

00:10:02.584 --> 00:10:03.042
FRANK SANDERS:

00:10:03.042 --> 00:10:04.042
Let\'s do it.

00:10:04.042 --> 00:10:04.667
DEB LIGGETT:

00:10:04.668 --> 00:10:07.666
Indian people feel that
anyone on the tower,

00:10:07.667 --> 00:10:09.917
or anyone pounding
bolts in the tower,

00:10:09.918 --> 00:10:11.999
is acting in a
disrespectful manner.

00:10:17.501 --> 00:10:22.249
They believe that that
disrespectful act is actually

00:10:22.250 --> 00:10:27.875
interfering with the
efficacy of their ceremonies.

00:10:27.876 --> 00:10:31.374
It\'s two different belief
systems in conflict.

00:10:31.375 --> 00:10:32.625
Climber off-camera

00:10:32.626 --> 00:10:34.333
Ha ha ha.

00:10:34.334 --> 00:10:35.583
Kick ass!

00:10:35.584 --> 00:10:36.625
Ha ha ha.

00:10:36.626 --> 00:10:37.334
JOHNSON HOLY ROCK:

00:10:37.335 --> 00:10:42.998
As I looked up at the
tower, it imparted to me

00:10:42.999 --> 00:10:47.583
a feeling of violation,
a sense of desecration.

00:10:47.584 --> 00:10:51.458
And I thought to myself,
\"Why are they doing this?

00:10:51.459 --> 00:10:55.041
Don\'t they have any
respect for anything?\"

00:10:55.042 --> 00:10:55.751
ANDY PETEFISH:

00:10:55.752 --> 00:10:58.541
When a land-based religious
practitioner walks up to me

00:10:58.542 --> 00:11:01.998
and tells me to stick my rope,
my climbing shoes and my rack

00:11:01.999 --> 00:11:04.999
in my pack, and hit the
road, and get the hell out

00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:07.998
of Devils Tower and never come
back, which is what they\'re

00:11:07.999 --> 00:11:09.958
advocating, they\'re
not advocating strictly

00:11:09.959 --> 00:11:11.458
the month of June
if you talk to them,

00:11:11.459 --> 00:11:13.999
they don\'t want
climbers here period.

00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:14.626
NARRATOR:

00:11:14.627 --> 00:11:17.374
While a handful of climbers
sued the Park Service,

00:11:17.375 --> 00:11:20.082
June climbing at Devils
Tower has dropped off

00:11:20.083 --> 00:11:22.082
by eighty-five per cent.

00:11:22.083 --> 00:11:24.666
These rock walls are at Mt.

00:11:24.667 --> 00:11:27.625
Rushmore National Memorial
in the Black Hills,

00:11:27.626 --> 00:11:29.958
eighty miles from the tower.

00:11:29.959 --> 00:11:30.375
JOHN GUNNELS:

00:11:30.376 --> 00:11:34.958
I live and stay in
Wyoming because I love it.

00:11:34.959 --> 00:11:38.958
My favorite spot on the
planet is Devils Tower.

00:11:38.959 --> 00:11:40.541
It keeps me there.

00:11:40.542 --> 00:11:42.998
I go other places
during the month of June

00:11:42.999 --> 00:11:47.041
because I choose to respect
Native American beliefs.

00:11:47.042 --> 00:11:47.959
JOHNSON HOLY ROCK:

00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:50.291
I\'m thankful that the
majority of the climbers

00:11:50.292 --> 00:11:52.917
have thus respected our wishes.

00:11:52.918 --> 00:11:56.625
We also recognize that
some of those people, it\'s

00:11:56.626 --> 00:11:58.998
a way of life for
them, economically,

00:11:58.999 --> 00:12:01.333
they have no
spiritual connection

00:12:01.334 --> 00:12:03.082
to the Lodge of the Bear.

00:12:03.083 --> 00:12:11.083
It represents something far
different than as we see it

00:12:17.999 --> 00:12:20.998
as Lakota people.

00:12:20.999 --> 00:12:21.417
NARRATOR:

00:12:21.418 --> 00:12:24.374
When their territory was
penetrated by the Americans,

00:12:24.375 --> 00:12:28.833
the Lakota and other bands of
the Sioux fought to defend it,

00:12:28.834 --> 00:12:29.834
and they won.

00:12:29.835 --> 00:12:32.917
It was the first
military conflict

00:12:32.918 --> 00:12:36.625
ever lost by the United States.

00:12:36.626 --> 00:12:40.958
By treaty, the Black
Hills and Devils Tower

00:12:40.959 --> 00:12:42.541
belonged to the Sioux.

00:12:42.542 --> 00:12:49.541
In 1874, an expedition led by
General George Armstrong Custer

00:12:49.542 --> 00:12:53.750
broke the treaty, entered
the Hills, and found gold.

00:12:53.751 --> 00:12:59.583
The Black Hills
gold rush was on.

00:12:59.584 --> 00:13:02.541
Since then, the Sioux have
battled to regain title.

00:13:02.542 --> 00:13:05.291
It is the longest
standing legal battle

00:13:05.292 --> 00:13:09.333
in U.S. history, fought
from reservations

00:13:09.334 --> 00:13:17.334
far from their sacred places.

00:13:30.876 --> 00:13:31.250
STORYTELLER:

00:13:31.251 --> 00:13:38.416
The racetrack around
the Black Hills

00:13:38.417 --> 00:13:41.374
is a ring of red rock,
stained with the blood

00:13:41.375 --> 00:13:44.917
of the animals who raced there.

00:13:44.918 --> 00:13:48.750
Magpie raced for the humans,
and caught a ride on Buffalo.

00:13:48.751 --> 00:13:51.998
When the finish
line was in sight,

00:13:51.999 --> 00:13:54.998
that clever bird
flew ahead and won.

00:13:54.999 --> 00:13:57.998
Thus, humans won the
right to hunt buffalo,

00:13:57.999 --> 00:14:01.958
and accepted the responsibility
of caring for all species.

00:14:01.959 --> 00:14:02.584
OLIVER RED CLOUD:

00:14:02.585 --> 00:14:05.998
You run for a reason.

00:14:05.999 --> 00:14:09.041
You\'re not running for yourself.

00:14:09.042 --> 00:14:14.208
You\'re not racing... who
could be the best runner.

00:14:14.209 --> 00:14:16.791
It\'s not that.

00:14:16.792 --> 00:14:17.250
ELAINE QUIVER:

00:14:17.251 --> 00:14:20.917
We may be the poorest
people in Shannon County,

00:14:20.918 --> 00:14:22.459
but we\'re rich in our culture.

00:14:25.292 --> 00:14:26.998
Prayers are important.

00:14:26.999 --> 00:14:30.166
Because that\'s the
backbone of our nation.

00:14:30.167 --> 00:14:33.666
We pray wherever
we go, every day.

00:14:33.667 --> 00:14:37.416
We don\'t need a church to
say we love one another,

00:14:37.417 --> 00:14:38.709
because we do.

00:14:42.125 --> 00:14:43.042
WILLIAM PERRY PENDLEY:

00:14:43.043 --> 00:14:47.082
Recreation is one of the
top five income generators

00:14:47.083 --> 00:14:48.249
in every western state.

00:14:48.250 --> 00:14:49.541
It\'s very, very important.

00:14:49.542 --> 00:14:53.082
But what we also see is the
potential that mining activity,

00:14:53.083 --> 00:14:57.833
oil and gas activity, or
timber harvesting, or ranching

00:14:57.834 --> 00:15:00.791
or water development, or
these other activities that

00:15:00.792 --> 00:15:02.958
are very important
economically, could also

00:15:02.959 --> 00:15:05.291
be stopped as a result
of, \"Well, somebody

00:15:05.292 --> 00:15:07.750
thinks it\'s sacred, and
that\'s enough for us.\"

00:15:07.751 --> 00:15:08.167
VINE DELORIA:

00:15:08.168 --> 00:15:12.833
It\'s not that Indians should
have exclusive rights there.

00:15:12.834 --> 00:15:16.416
It\'s that that location
is sacred enough

00:15:16.417 --> 00:15:19.998
it should have time of its own.

00:15:19.999 --> 00:15:23.583
And that once it
has time of its own,

00:15:23.584 --> 00:15:25.833
then the people who know
how to do ceremonies

00:15:25.834 --> 00:15:27.998
should come and minister to it.

00:15:27.999 --> 00:15:32.834
See, and that\'s so hard
to get across to people.

00:15:36.209 --> 00:15:36.999
CHARLES WILKINSON:

00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:39.791
In the corner of the
mind of many judges

00:15:39.792 --> 00:15:44.541
is the idea that these just
can\'t be real religions.

00:15:44.542 --> 00:15:50.791
Religion is something
you do in a church.

00:15:50.792 --> 00:15:58.250
Real religion isn\'t
something you do in nature.

00:16:00.999 --> 00:16:04.166
The category for
that is recreation.

00:16:04.167 --> 00:16:06.958
And the idea that
a religion could

00:16:06.959 --> 00:16:11.917
be tied to a
particular place is not

00:16:11.918 --> 00:16:15.042
part of the life
experience of these judges.

00:16:17.918 --> 00:16:18.292
NARRATOR:

00:16:18.293 --> 00:16:21.041
A Wyoming judge issued
a preliminary injunction

00:16:21.042 --> 00:16:24.249
against the Park Service\'s
ban on commercial climbing,

00:16:24.250 --> 00:16:26.249
ruling it was a
government endorsement

00:16:26.250 --> 00:16:29.416
of native spirituality
in violation of the First

00:16:29.417 --> 00:16:30.500
Amendment.

00:16:30.501 --> 00:16:32.998
The Park Service
dropped the ban.

00:16:32.999 --> 00:16:35.333
The climbers went further.

00:16:35.334 --> 00:16:38.082
They challenged the remaining
Park Service policies

00:16:38.083 --> 00:16:41.208
that ask visitors to change
their behavior in deference

00:16:41.209 --> 00:16:43.625
to Native American beliefs.

00:16:43.626 --> 00:16:44.000
DEB LIGGETT:

00:16:44.001 --> 00:16:46.416
The basic issue
here isn\'t legal.

00:16:46.417 --> 00:16:50.998
The basic issue here is
respect for other human beings,

00:16:50.999 --> 00:16:56.208
that somehow we must
co-inhabit this planet.

00:16:56.209 --> 00:17:01.708
And we do that by making
accommodations for each other.

00:17:01.709 --> 00:17:04.041
Throughout the
national park system

00:17:04.042 --> 00:17:07.791
we have religious structures
and religious features.

00:17:07.792 --> 00:17:10.374
We have Quaker churches,
we have Baptist churches,

00:17:10.375 --> 00:17:12.082
we have Spanish missions.

00:17:12.083 --> 00:17:17.291
Talking about religion, or
talking about cultural beliefs,

00:17:17.292 --> 00:17:18.500
is not proselytizing.

00:17:18.501 --> 00:17:18.999
RANGER:

00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:21.500
The Great Spirit
answered his prayers.

00:17:21.501 --> 00:17:25.458
The two little girls standing
on the boulder, the boulder

00:17:25.459 --> 00:17:29.416
grew to where it is
now today, 865 feet.

00:17:29.417 --> 00:17:36.208
JOHNNY CASH SONG: Now
I will tell you buster,

00:17:36.209 --> 00:17:39.249
That I ain\'t a fan of Custer\'s.

00:17:39.250 --> 00:17:42.998
And the General, he
don\'t ride well anymore.

00:17:42.999 --> 00:17:46.750
To some he was a hero,

00:17:46.751 --> 00:17:49.416
But to me his score was zero,

00:17:49.417 --> 00:17:53.042
And the General, he
don\'t ride well anymore.

00:17:55.876 --> 00:17:56.250
WINNIE BUSH:

00:17:56.251 --> 00:17:59.998
Our culture is as important
as the Indian culture, and we

00:17:59.999 --> 00:18:01.875
people who have lived
here all our lives,

00:18:01.876 --> 00:18:04.708
we have our own culture
that\'s being invaded

00:18:04.709 --> 00:18:07.708
by the Indians coming here
all the time and taking over,

00:18:07.709 --> 00:18:08.334
I think.

00:18:08.334 --> 00:18:08.959
NARRATOR:

00:18:08.960 --> 00:18:12.708
Hulett, Wyoming is the town
closest to Devils Tower.

00:18:12.709 --> 00:18:16.833
Locals involved with Wise Use,
a property rights movement,

00:18:16.834 --> 00:18:19.041
were plaintiffs in the lawsuit
against the Park Service.

00:18:19.042 --> 00:18:19.834
MIKE TOKANCZYK:

00:18:19.835 --> 00:18:22.458
This tactic of claiming
religious areas

00:18:22.459 --> 00:18:24.416
is happening all over.

00:18:24.417 --> 00:18:27.124
It\'s happening at the Medicine
Wheel, at the Big Horns.

00:18:27.125 --> 00:18:29.416
It\'s just not used
to stop climbing.

00:18:29.417 --> 00:18:31.917
It\'s used to stop all
kinds of activities.

00:18:31.918 --> 00:18:35.625
I think that it\'s just being
used as a land grab versus,

00:18:35.626 --> 00:18:38.998
y\'know, actual Indian
religious purposes.

00:18:38.999 --> 00:18:39.542
JESSE DRISKILL:

00:18:39.543 --> 00:18:43.333
Our family history goes
back seven generations

00:18:43.334 --> 00:18:44.998
in Crook County in
the ranching business.

00:18:44.999 --> 00:18:49.249
And there really were no
Native Americans here...

00:18:49.250 --> 00:18:51.958
Until they were invited
by the park service.

00:18:51.959 --> 00:18:52.459
ELAINE QUIVER:

00:18:52.460 --> 00:18:53.998
We always been there.

00:18:53.999 --> 00:18:56.791
But they would not see
us because we didn\'t

00:18:56.792 --> 00:18:59.124
go there to be seen, really.

00:18:59.125 --> 00:19:04.998
In the 1800s, we were
prohibited from practicing

00:19:04.999 --> 00:19:07.833
our own religious way of life.

00:19:07.834 --> 00:19:10.998
Our vision quests were stopped.

00:19:10.999 --> 00:19:14.374
Now we can go back
again, and that\'s

00:19:14.375 --> 00:19:17.541
when we started going
back to the sacred sites.

00:19:17.542 --> 00:19:23.998
But you don\'t see an Indian
visibly going to a place

00:19:23.999 --> 00:19:24.959
to pray.

00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:29.708
I went up there and prayed,
and so has a lot of people.

00:19:29.709 --> 00:19:31.998
They walk into the
hills and pray,

00:19:31.999 --> 00:19:36.791
and they walk back after
four days and leave.

00:19:36.792 --> 00:19:39.291
We was always been there.

00:19:39.292 --> 00:19:42.958
So, I think that\'s a culture.

00:19:42.959 --> 00:19:46.917
You have to know the culture
to identify what you see,

00:19:46.918 --> 00:19:49.625
and if you don\'t know the
culture, you don\'t see nothing.

00:19:49.626 --> 00:19:49.999
WINNIE BUSH:

00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:53.291
And we don\'t go out and
hang our dirty laundry out.

00:19:53.292 --> 00:19:56.208
And all the prayer bundles
at Devils Tower to me

00:19:56.209 --> 00:19:58.998
is offensive, I must say that.

00:19:58.999 --> 00:20:01.998
They have all the rest of the
United States to hang \'em in.

00:20:01.999 --> 00:20:04.374
Why do they have to
hang em at Devils Tower?

00:20:04.375 --> 00:20:04.999
JESSE DRISKILL:

00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:07.166
Could they possibly worship
it any more than we do?

00:20:07.167 --> 00:20:07.792
WINNIE BUSH:

00:20:07.792 --> 00:20:08.167
No!

00:20:08.167 --> 00:20:08.167
JESSE DRISKILL:

00:20:08.168 --> 00:20:10.791
And they surely do not take as
good a care of it as we take.

00:20:10.792 --> 00:20:11.167
WINNIE BUSH:

00:20:11.168 --> 00:20:13.124
When I go to Devils
Tower, I definitely

00:20:13.125 --> 00:20:14.666
have a religious experience.

00:20:14.667 --> 00:20:16.998
I think it\'s one of the most
awesome sights I\'ve ever seen,

00:20:16.999 --> 00:20:18.791
and I\'ve been looking
at it all my life.

00:20:18.792 --> 00:20:20.166
But it\'s not like the church.

00:20:20.167 --> 00:20:26.998
It has no similarities at all.

00:20:26.999 --> 00:20:27.417
VINE DELORIA:

00:20:27.418 --> 00:20:30.998
The central problem is that
western religion is basically

00:20:30.999 --> 00:20:33.998
materialistic, and I
think that\'s because

00:20:33.999 --> 00:20:36.583
of the western
tradition that God

00:20:36.584 --> 00:20:40.998
works in history, which is
to say in events, but not

00:20:40.999 --> 00:20:43.791
in people and places.

00:20:43.792 --> 00:20:47.998
So, what you end up with
then is the capability

00:20:47.999 --> 00:20:52.124
of establishing a church
or shrine anyplace that\'s

00:20:52.125 --> 00:20:54.041
convenient to people.

00:20:54.042 --> 00:20:57.082
That\'s not, that\'s treating
earth as an object,

00:20:57.083 --> 00:21:01.166
and Indians don\'t
believe it\'s an object,

00:21:01.167 --> 00:21:08.250
and they base that on thousands
of years of experience.

00:21:11.709 --> 00:21:12.083
STORYTELLER:

00:21:12.084 --> 00:21:17.833
To honor the Great Spirit,
Lakota gathered at Mato Tipila

00:21:17.834 --> 00:21:19.291
for a sun dance.

00:21:19.292 --> 00:21:23.416
A mysterious woman approached,
gave the Lakota a pipe,

00:21:23.417 --> 00:21:26.625
and taught them how
to use it in prayer.

00:21:26.626 --> 00:21:29.541
As she headed back
toward the horizon,

00:21:29.542 --> 00:21:32.166
the woman turned
into a buffalo calf.

00:21:32.167 --> 00:21:35.999
Since then, she has been known
as White Buffalo Calf Woman.

00:21:39.834 --> 00:21:47.834
Mato Tipila is remembered as the
place where the Lakota received

00:21:56.959 --> 00:22:04.959
the pipe from the spirit world.

00:22:07.667 --> 00:22:08.125
ELAINE QUIVER:

00:22:08.126 --> 00:22:16.126
This is our way of saying,
\"We respect our ancestors.

00:22:26.167 --> 00:22:28.541
We love our ancestors.\"

00:22:28.542 --> 00:22:32.917
And this has to go on
to the next generation.

00:22:32.918 --> 00:22:35.333
Because someday we\'re
not going to be there.

00:22:35.334 --> 00:22:39.625
And they will have to continue,
and teach their children,

00:22:39.626 --> 00:22:40.626
and their grandchildren.

00:22:42.042 --> 00:22:43.042
WEATHER REPORT ON RADIO:

00:22:43.043 --> 00:22:51.043
FOR TODAY: northwest winds
of 30 to 40 miles per hour,

00:23:01.375 --> 00:23:09.375
an additional one to
two inches of rain

00:23:09.709 --> 00:23:12.208
is possible in the Black
Hills this morning.

00:23:12.209 --> 00:23:12.999
RANDY LAYS BAD:

00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:17.998
A lot of people are countin\'
on us to complete this run,

00:23:17.999 --> 00:23:25.999
five day trek around
the Black Hills.

00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:50.541
So, that keeps us going.

00:23:50.542 --> 00:23:50.999
Heart.

00:23:50.999 --> 00:23:51.959
It\'s all heart.

00:23:51.959 --> 00:23:52.334
DEB LIGGETT:

00:23:52.335 --> 00:23:55.333
What we\'re accommodating
here at Devils Tower

00:23:55.334 --> 00:23:59.041
is Indian peoples\'
rights to their culture.

00:23:59.042 --> 00:24:03.208
They\'re here for the long
haul, and they know it.

00:24:03.209 --> 00:24:09.124
These sacred sites are
central to the perpetuation

00:24:09.125 --> 00:24:14.666
of their culture, and one of
our jobs here at Devils Tower

00:24:14.667 --> 00:24:17.042
is to protect that right.

00:24:19.417 --> 00:24:19.999
NARRATOR:

00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:22.208
THE COURTS HAVE AGREED:
the Park Service\'s attempt

00:24:22.209 --> 00:24:25.998
to discourage climbing in
June is an accommodation, not

00:24:25.999 --> 00:24:28.416
an endorsement, of
Indian religion.

00:24:28.417 --> 00:24:31.082
Those who choose to
climb are still allowed

00:24:31.083 --> 00:24:34.583
on the Indians\' sacred
monument without penalty...

00:24:34.584 --> 00:24:42.584
It is a federal crime to
climb the faces of Mt.

00:25:00.334 --> 00:25:01.751
Rushmore, anytime of year.