Pipestone National Monument is where the ancient sacred quarries are located. They are situated on prairie land that is almost flat. Closer to where the quarries lie are quartzite rocks showing above the grasses. It is here that the Catlinite was found many hundreds of years ago.

Sage growing above a quarry, with quartzite outcropping showing

It is said that originally the stone was close to the surface and showing in the stream that runs through the area. The stone itself is pink, (usually the color of the photographs on this site,) but when it gets wet it is a dark red. It was this red stone that was seen in the stream, and the people discovering it immediately felt it was something special just by it's color.

They then found that it was easy to carve and so gradually it took the place of the usual stone and antler that pipes had been made from in the past.

In 1862 some of our ancestors were quarrying here, and on their return to the Upper Sioux agency they noticed smoke on the horizon. This was the start of the Minnesota - Dakota Conflict that lasted for 6 weeks and caused the Dakota people to be excluded from Minnesota for a number of years, during which time the non-natives encroached on the Pipestone quarries.

The French traders were probably the first non-natives to see the quarries but they probably didn't understand what they were, or maybe they hid the fact to give safety to Indian customs, or maybe they even saw a monetary value there and wanted to keep it for themselves. Whatever, not much is known from that era except from an unoffical record written by the Governor at that time.

In the 1830's there were a number of white/mixed blood people visiting the quarries; Philander Prescott, Joseph LaFramboise, Joseph Nicollet, Fremont, Featherstone, Haugh, and of course George Catlin, for whom the red stone is named.

We do know from Catlin's writings that the Native people of the area were not happy about non-indians going to the quarry area. This was a very special, sacred area to them, and they knew that when Washitus set foot there they would never be the same again. He was held for a day by a group of Dakota who tried unsuccessfully to persuade him not to visit the quarry area.

These Dakota were correct in their assumptions because later non-native people did quarry and even as early as 1864 made money through the stone. (J B Hubbell: " Pipestone City...are not aware ...that large quantities of the pipestone was hauled to Lake Shetak and manufactured into Indian pipes and other things by machinery..... Gen. Sully .....engaged with me for 5,000 pipes at $5 apiece." As it was this contract was not fulfilled by the army, however Hubbell traded the pipes to Native people for buffalo hides which at that time were worth over $10. $50,000 was, and still is a real fortune for anyone.

There has been a lot of controversy about the ownership of the quarries. The Yankton say that they still belong to them, however the Government did pay that tribe an amount, in 1929, which equaled just over $150 per person in the tribe, for ownership of the land.

It must be said though that the Yankton did refuse to have a treaty with the US Government in 1858, unless the quarries were set aside for Indian use. They did get that agreement and eventually a square mile was used as a Reservation. Today the National Monument stands on the same Reservation land, although not the full square mile.

Over the years non-native people tried to encroach on the quarry lands, and each time they were evicted, however, often these people made money from the quarries. At one point in 1887 troops were used to force the squatters out.

The Yankton tried many times to get various agreements from the government, and each time they were overturned, or the court cases never came to anything. It wasn't until 1929 when many changes had occured within the tribe that ratification of a payment was accepted. At this point the way was open for a National Park to be established at the quarries. However it didn't happen overnight........ not until August 25th, 1937, when President Franklyn D Roosevelt signed the legislation.