At the top of the Big Horn Mountains, 9,642 feet above sea level, on the west ridge of Medicine Mountain, lies the Big Horn Medicine Wheel. The wheel sits about twenty yards away from a limestone cliff face, where visitors can look down upon the Big Horn Basin, the Wind River, and the Pryor Mountains of Montana. Using a piece of wood found built into the structure, archaeologists dated the Medicine Wheel itself to around 1760 AD. Other archaeological research carbon-dated charcoal and wood fragments found near the Medicine Wheel to 4,529 BCE. The wheel is made of hundreds of white limestone rocks arranged in roughly in the circular shape of a wheel. Spanning eighty feet in diameter, the wheel is a true marvel, as most rocks used as material for the massive wheel originate from the bottom of the mountain, meaning the builders carried them to the top. At the center of the wheel lies another smaller circle, and 28 “spokes” radiate from this smaller center circle, connecting the center to the perimeter of the wheel. Small hollow cairns surround the wheel. Although much research has been done on the wheel, archaeologists, astronomers, and other scholars have been unable to determine its origin and function. One astronomer suggests the indigenous builders might have designed the wheel to track celestial bodies, having found the cairns are in astronomical alignment with the summer solstice sunset and sunrise as well as the rise of the stars Alderbaran, Serius, and Rigel. Another astronomer disagrees, saying that had the medicine wheel’s purpose been to track the solstice and stars, the structure’s design would have been more precise and astronomical alignments with the wheel would be more obvious and practical. An archaeologist suggests that the cairns could have been small shelters for vision quest participants while another archaeologist believes the wheel is a model of a Cheyenne medicine lodge. A Crow legend tells the story of a boy that was able to find healing and tribal acceptance through the power connected to the wheel. The Cheyenne believe that the Legend of Sweet Medicine inspired the Big Horn Medicine Wheel. Many theories have been proposed and disputed, but no theory has provided irrefutable evidence for a single explanation. The Big Horn Medicine Wheel is a national historical landmark and is still used by tribes for religious purposes. Visitors are allowed to view the Big Horn Medicine Wheel but are asked to respect the ancient site as it holds both religious and historical significance to many Native Americans.

For more (including 5 images) view the original article

In Wyoming’s Black Hills stands a massive geological monument called Devils Tower. To the Northern Plains tribes—the Lakotas, Arapahos, Cheyennes, Shoshones, Crows, and Kiowas—this monument is known by older names: Bear Lodge, Bear’s Tipi, Bear Peak, and Tree Rock. Like its names, the views and value of the Tower differs between U.S. American and Indigenous peoples. Devils Tower is a magma pillar which cooled underground until erosion over geologic time exposed it. Scientists have studied the formation since the 1880s and still do not fully agree on the processes. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt designated Devils Tower as the first U.S. National Monument. Among its 400,000 visitors annually, rock climbers enjoy the unique challenge of scaling its large column formations. To indigenous peoples, Bear Lodge has a rich spiritual history and significance. A Lakota elder, Johnson Holy Rock, said when asked about the region, “If a man was starving, he was poor in spirit and in body, and he went into the Black Hills, the next spring he would come out, his life and body would be renewed. So, to our grandfathers, the Black Hills was the center of life, and those areas all around it were considered sacred, and were kept in the light of reverence.” The Lakotas and Kiowas recount the creation of the Tower by telling of a group of little girls playing in the Plains who ran as bears chased them. The Great Spirit had pity on them and made the earth beneath them rise into a large tower, protecting them from the bears as they tried to claw their way up, to no avail. Their claw marks are seen today as great columns on the sides of the mountain. A Cheyenne warrior, Wooden Leg, once told a story of a man who fell asleep next to a buffalo head at the base of Bear Lodge. While asleep, he and the buffalo head were miraculously transported up the tower by the Great [Spirit] Medicine. When the man woke up, he feared he had no way down, so he prayed. When he woke up the next morning, the Great Spirit had transported him to the bottom of the tower, leaving the buffalo head at the top, where it has remained since then. Many important spiritual leaders have visited Bear Lodge, fasting, praying, and receiving visions and prophecies during their time there, including the Cheyenne Sweet Medicine, the Lakota Sitting Bull, and Crazy Horse. Northern Plains tribes hold Bear Lodge in great reverence by performing prayers and ceremonies nearby. Around the monument, signs are posted which read, “Please do not disturb prayer bundles and prayer cloths.” Native peoples leave prayer offerings near the surrounding trails. Traditionally, the Lakota held a Sun Dance at Bear Lodge at the time of the summer solstice. This dance focuses on symbolic sacrifice and renewal of man and nature and is sometimes still performed at Bear Lodge. According to the Northern Plains Native American tribes, Devils Tower is much more than a national monument, unique geological formation, or great place to rock climb. To them, Bear Lodge represents a place to worship, pray, and receive spiritual experiences.

For more (including 3 images) view the original article

In response to the influx of white settlers traveling west throughout the nineteenth century, Cheyennes and Arapahos in Colorado tried to find a stable location to support their people. They had previously raided white settlements to survive but soon concluded that they should attempt peaceful coexistence. These groups traveled to Denver in September 1864 to discuss these goals but were redirected to Fort Lyon, a small fort near the Big Sandy Creek River. Those in Denver told the Cheyenne and Arapahos that as long as they waved a white flag as they approached Fort Lyon, no one would harm them.

Meanwhile, the American Civil War solicited the service of many men across the country, leaving western settlements largely unprotected from Indian raids. Military leader John Chivington organized a militia unit of six hundred men to defend the state of Colorado from Native American advances for a period of one hundred days. However, the militia experienced very little action in those three months. As the deadline of one hundred days came to a close, people mocked the militia for their lack of combat.

In November 1864, with the American flag and the white flag of surrender raised, the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes settled down around Fort Lyon. The militia, wanting to fight before the end of the one hundred days, saw the large mass of Indians outside Fort Lyon and waited. On Chivington’s order, a cavalry unit attacked the native settlements at dawn on November 29, 1864. He told the militia not to take prisoners, resulting in the massacre of around 150-250 Cheyenne and Arapahos. They killed men, women, and children, sparing none. The militia also scalped heads, cut off genitalia, and mutilated the bodies of those they killed. Some even tied parts of the dead Indians onto their belts as symbols of pride and victory. One account of a survivor states, “I saw one squaw cut open, with an unborn child lying by her side.” Additional witnesses mentioned many other horrific scenes from the massacre. Since this was a militia group and not an official U.S. military troop, John Chivington resigned from his position, thereby freeing him from any formal charges of his actions.

The tragic events that occurred here taint Colorado and U.S. history. A National Historic site now stands near the field, paying homage to the silenced voices of the native men, women, and children who desired peace.

For more (including 3 images) view the original article