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14 – PIPESTONE COUNTY STAR THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012THE SUNDANCEBy Kyle KuphalUnique among the many programsand events held at Pipestone NationalMonument each year is the “Gatheringof the Sacred Pipes Sundance” held everysummer.Clyde Bellecourt, or Nee-Gon-Nway-Wee-Dung (Thunder Before the Storm)brought the Sundance to the Monument22 years ago after he visited the place andrecalled it from a vision. The Sundanceis a ceremony of prayer, fasting andpurification.“You dance for four solid days, you fast— no food, no water,” Bellecourt said. “Theidea is to purify your body.”The Sundance begins with Tree Dayduring which a tree is selected and carriedto the site of the Sundance. The tree signifiesthe umbilical cord, Bellecourt said, whichconnects the dancers to mother earth.“We wear skirts like women becausewe’re going through four days of labor,” hesaid. “We’re trying to show the women thatwe support them. We thank them for givingbirth to us. Now we’re going to give birth toa nation.”On the fourth day, Bellecourt said, thedancers are considered purified and readyto be born again. The dancers are piercedthrough the chest and tied to the tree,representing their connection to MotherEarth.“You’ve got to dance until you pull away,”Bellecourt said. “You ask the creator to letyou live again, to be a warrior, to be sober,free from drugs, do not abuse your wife,don’t hurt people anymore, be a strongwarrior, feed and take care of your people.And when they break (free from the tree),they’re born again.”He said the Sundance is not only forthose who participate, but for the healthand happiness of the whole earth.“We pray for everyone,” Bellecourt said.“Every single day we go out there and facethe sun and sing and dance all day, prayingfor everybody around us.”Joe Morales, the leader of this year’sSundance that took place the first weekendin August, said 20-to-30 dancers participatein the ceremony each year and hundredsmore attend to support the dancers. Thepublic is invited to observe the ceremonyas long as they are respectful and follow therules that are explained as they enter theSundance area.Above, top: Sundance participants carry a tree cut from the Hiawatha Pageant Grounds to the Sundance site in 2010. File photo Above, bottom: Volunteers dig the hole for the tree in the centerof the Sundance area Tuesday, July 31, in preparation for this year’s Sundance. The wooden structure around the perimeter of the circle area was covered with tarps to shelter viewers from thesun. Pipestone Publishing/Kyle KuphalCongratulationson 75 Years ofDedication!Thank Youfor your 75 yearsof service to thePipestone area.PRIMEYour Source for• Ceramic Floor Tile• Hardwood Flooring• Carpet• Furniture• Vinyl Linoleum• Window Treatments• Complete Home FurnishingsRIBDouble D. Gravel, Inc.Doug & Annette DubbeldePipestone, MNfrom the students,staff and faculty ofCOMMUNITY & TECHNICAL COLLEGE A member of the Minnesota State Colleges andUniversities System. ADA accessible. An affirmativeaction equal opportunity education/employer825-5552 WWW.MNWEST.EDUPipestoneInteriors204 West Main Street, Pipestone, MNPhone 507-825-4277 | Toll Free 1-800-859-4277STARTING AT 6:00pm201 Broadway St., Trosky, MN507-348-7732
THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012 PIPESTONE COUNTY STAR – 15By Debra FitzgeraldINTERPRETING THE MONUMENTJust as Pipestone National Monument’sVisitor Center was constructed with a late-1950s philosophy, so were the interpretiveexhibits constructed inside the center thatteach visitors about the significance of thesite.Unlike the relocation of the MonumentVisitor Center, which will take yearsto accomplish, the exhibits have beenchanging and will continue to do so with “theAmerican Indian context more prominentthan it is now,” said Glen Livermont,Monument superintendent.An early exhibit would have containedan American, Spanish and French flag, forexample, showing historic settlement of theregion.“Territorial expansion was importantback then, but is that a really important partof the significance here,” Livermont said.“It’s important to history nationally, but nothere. So who was here? American Indians.This is a sacred site for American Indians. Inculture, in heritage, it’s their land.“This isn’t just a tall grass prairie, it’shugely important in the lives of theAmerican Indian,” said Livermont, whohas served the Monument for 12 years,four of those as superintendent, and whois himself half Ogalala Sioux from the PineRidge Reservation in South Dakota.Bringing out that American Indiancontext means creating relationships withthe 23 tribes that are officially recognized ashaving an affiliation with Pipestone NationalMonument. Those tribes are spread acrossKansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska,and South and North Dakota.To help with developing thoserelationships, Livermont hired MarkCalamia in 2011, a West Texan who holdsa Ph.D. in cultural anthropology. Calamiais the first at the Monument to fill the newposition of cultural resources programmanager and tribal liaison.“Reaching out,” is what Calamia has beencharged to do, Livermont said, “to help mebring the tribes into the fold.”One of the ways he will do that is bycontacting each of the tribes and invitingthem to jointly develop with the Monumentprogrammatic agreements that spellout specific needs, requirements andstipulations the tribes may have when itcomes to the Monument’s management ofthe resources.Some of the other projects Calamia is nowleading and may undertake in the future areas follows:Oral History ProjectFunded by the Regional NPS office,Calamia is conducting interviews with andrecording the oral histories of 11 AmericanIndians from both Dakota and Ojibwe tribeswho have experience with the pipestonequarries. Once transcribed and proofed, thehistories will document from the AmericanIndian perspective those people who havefirst-hand knowledge on the use of thequarries; its meaning; their relationshipto others who have used the quarries; andtheir perspective on management andprotection for future generations not onlyof the Monument’s mineral resources, butits plants.Calamia said he will be finished takingthese oral histories by the end of thisfiscal year, which ends Sept. 30 for theMonument.Exhibits like this map hanging inside the Visitor Center at the Monument increasingly interpretthe significance of the Monument grounds from the perspective of the American Indians whoconsidered the land a sacred site well before territorial expansion and the immigrant stampede.Pipestone Publishing/Debra FitzgeraldHistoric Resources StudyWith support from the Regional NPSoffice, the Monument has issued a requestfor proposals for the Monument’s firstHistoric Resources Study. The study willcomplete a basic, historic documentation byproviding a comprehensive synthesis of theMonument’s story and resources throughboth primary and secondary resources,including interviews, printed materials andhistoric information.The contract will be let by September –Calamia said likely professionals who wouldrespond to the RFP would be historians orethnohistorians. Once the contact is let, thestudy has a completion deadline of twoand-a-halfyears.“This is a major synthesis,” Calamia said.InterpretingContinued on page 16Congrats on75 Years!LookingForward to theNext 75 YearsPIPESTONEPRIDECatch it. Support it. Pass it on.Congratulationsto the PipestoneNational MonumentFirst Bank & Trustwould like to honor thePipestone NationalMonument!A Sacred SiteRich in Beautyand TraditionJER’SELECTRIC, INC.421 St. Hwy. 30, Pipestone, MN507-825-2072Pipestone 507-825-0095Brookings 605-692-6040Sioux Falls 605-543-6000Madison / Howard / Harrisburg101 2ND STREET NW 825.3344WWW.BANKEASY.COMM E M B E R F D I C
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