Mount Rushmore
Mount Rushmore in the South West of South Dakota is
known as America’s Shrine of Democracy. The sixty
foot high faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Roosevelt
have been carved out of the granite rock face. Nearby the
Lakota Indians are carving a memorial ten times bigger,
in honour of their most famous leader - Crazy Horse. |
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Bear Butte
Bear Butte, is the site of the holy mountain where the Sioux
Native Americans gather to pray. Here, they perform humblatias
or vision quests. A vision quest is something that an individual
would do at the first of their life and subsequently through
the rest of their lives as well to gain knowledge from the
spirits. They would fast for four days and the fasting itself
would induce a vision. Through that vision, the Sioux would
discover his destiny; whether he would be a medicine man,
a war leader, or a shamen.
To dream of thunder would point to the Sioux being a medicine
man, like the famous leader Crazy Horse. The Sioux who experience
vision quests would lead extraordinary and important lives,
following the path of a hayoka, which is a contrary to the
normal way. He would bathe in dirt, dry in water, sleep naked
during the cold winter, in the summer you slept with three
or four robes on. And this was a show of your dedication to
the faith.
Visitors to Bear Butte leave cloths on the trees as a way
of showing homage to the Mountain’s spirits, and in particular
tataotopa for directions. These mountain spirits you will
always want present, like the Holy Ghost. The cloth is a trade
for the guidance and advice of the spirits.
Visitors must have respect for the spirtual sanctity of the
mountain, it is like the Sioux equivalent of the Vatican.
Devil's Tower
Devil’s Tower rises 1200 feet above the plains. It’s
a sacred site to Native Americans who named it Bear Lodge
after the rock formations which they believed were scratches
left by a giant grizzly. The Sioux described it as “the
heart of everything that is”, and it remains a site of
strong religious importance to the 23 Native American tribes
of the Black Hills. |
