A mountain that has been a place of prayer far longer than it has been a park
A laccolith standing alone near Sturgis, and long before anyone made it a state park in 1961 it was, and remains, a religious site of the first importance to the Plains tribes. The Lakota call it Matȟó Pahá, Bear Mountain. To the Cheyenne it is Noahȧ-vose, the Giving Hill, the place where Ma’heo’o gave them their sacred instruction. People come here to pray and to fast. If you go, go on that understanding: prayer cloths and offerings on the mountain are not decoration and are not souvenirs.
Other places on the map within a couple of hours of here.
