Ronin (Aizawa Romance)

(f)Devil's Tower first stories

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First Stories

There are numerous stories about the Tower passed down through American Indian culture. Although popular culture would label them myths or legends, a more appropriate term would be oral histories, or in many cases sacred narratives. These stories helped to connect people with the Tower site. Sacred narratives are told today with a reverence to the beliefs and people of the past.

Each tribe had their own oral history, and in many cases multiple histories exist from the same tribe. Many of the stories contain similar elements. They are preserved today by the the traditions of American Indian culture and the work of historians passed.

Although the following stories are products of the past, the tribes they are associated with are active members of our present. They each have sovereign nations within the United States (known as reservations). The people and members of those tribes are a part of our modern national community, and their connections with places like the Tower are as important today as they were for generations before this sacred place became a national monument.

Arapahoe

An Arapahoe lodge was camped at Bear's Tipi. The father of this lodge was a head lodge and had seven children, five boys and two girls. The two girls had made an arrangement between themselves that the one who found the end rib-bone of a bison should receive the most favors from the brothers. The boys often made trips to other tribes. After a long search one of the girls found an end bone of a bison, but on picking it up she turned into a bear and made some big scratches on her sister's back. The 'bear-girl' told her sister, "If you tell, the dogs will howl and this will be a signal so I will know that you have told." The sister did tell her brothers and when they heard the dogs howl and give the signal they were scared and started to run.

The bear-girl heard the signal and ran after them. The girl who had told was carrying a ball in her hand which she dropped and accidentally kicked. The ball bounded up on the big, high rock. The bear-girl reached over her sister's shoulder to grab the ball, slipped and made very big scratches on the big rock and fell on her sister and broke the sister's chest. The bear-girl climbed to the top of the big, high rock and told her family that there would be seven stars in the shape of a diamond appear in the east; she said the first star out would be off to one side and would be brighter than the other stars. The first star would be called "Broken Chest Star."

From this time on, the Arapahoes called this big, high rock "Bear's Tipi."

This story was told by Sherman Sage, who learned it from his father, Straight-Old-Man (who in turned learned it from his father, Drying-Up-Hide). It was recorded on August 19, 1932.

A giant bear climbing Devils Tower

This painting depicts a different Cheyenne narrative about the Tower, where a man rescues his wife from a giant bear with the help of his six brothers.

NPS / Herbert Collins

Cheyenne
A band of Cheyennes went on one of their visits to Na Kovehe (Bear Lodge) to worship the great spirit, as did many other tribes. Families and all members of the tribe came, as Bear Lodge was known as a holy place.

After having camped there for several days one of the Cheyenne braves noticed that his wife was gone from camp, staying away for a short time. As time went on, he noticed that she was gone longer than before. This brave could not understand why his wife should be gone from their lodge so much as he had always been devoted to her, being a good hunter as well as a brave warrior. She always had much buffalo, antelope and deer meat. He furnished her fine skins to make nice clothes.