Pipestone National Monument
During our 1995 cross-country road trip, our route carried us through a part of Minnesota, where we stopped at one of the most remarkable sites: Pipestone National Monument.
Here, the soft red stone, pipestone, has been quarried for centuries by Native people and carved into ceremonial pipes used in prayer and spiritual life. This is not simply a historic site but a living cultural place. Tribes from across the Plains and beyond retain the right to quarry the stone, continuing traditions that long predate European settlement.
Pipestone was formally protected as a national monument on August 25, 1937, when it was designated by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The designation recognized the site’s profound cultural and spiritual importance and ensured that Native Nations would retain access to the quarries while the land was preserved for future generations.
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