Falls at Pipestone National Monument

Falls Detail

Pipestone mining

Mining Pipestone

A prayer bundle

Friends, Pipestone National Monument protects the pipestone site that has been a quarry for Native Americans to mine pipestone.  For many generations, the Native Americans have journeyed here to mine the pipestone and take it home to their people.    The red rock is soft like soapstone and can be carved into amulets and pipes easily with primitive tools.  The site is open to Natives to mine the red rock, but closed to others of non-native heritage.  The pipe was a sacred ceremony among the Natives and an important object in the preservation of their culture.  The ribbons attached to the tree  are prayer bundles left to thank the Great Spirit.  We visited this green oasis and wandered the paths to the falls and quarries on our way west. My friend and I wrote a story about Pipestone earlier    til Tomorrow MJ