Devils Tower National Monument
Located near Gillette, WY
Authored by Pickatrail.com
Devils Tower National Monument Campgrounds - Topo Maps
For centuries the American Indians referred to the immense Tower as Mato Tipila which means Bear Lodge. There are over 20 separate tribes of Indians that consider the Tower a sacred site.  In the late 1800s an expedition party used the name Devils Tower for their survey records. Soon after the settlers came to the Black Hills ignoring the Treaty of 1868 guaranteeing that this region would remain an Indian territory. After General George Custer arrived, and reports of gold became known, miners flooded into the area. Many Indians thought they would lose all of the lands issued to them in the Treaty. They watched towns like Custer spring up throughout the land; eventually this led to the Battle of Little Bighorn, where Custer and his troops were defeated. The aftermath created a pursuit by the Army to force the tribes onto reservations. However, the Government recognized the importance of protecting Devils Tower, and by the 1890s the General Land Office rejected all applications for land claims near the Tower, leading to eventual establishment of America's First National Monument.
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