Lakota Sioux Myths of Place::

Bear Butte

According to one Lakota myth, in ancient times, a giant bear and a dinosaur-like water monster, unktegila fought a terrible battle that lasted for days. So fiercely did the two monsters fight that the valleys filled with rivers of blood. At last the unktegila severely wounded the bear with its jagged teeth, and the bear crawled away to die. Then the ground erupted and darkness covered the earth. Fire and ashes, water and mud spewed out of the ground and into the sky. As quickly as the chaos had begun, it ended, leaving the air clear and calm once again. The bear's body had disappeared. In its place there was a high hill, still rumbling and smouldering. The hill was in the shape of the 'slumbering' bear's body and thus was named after it.

Another story relating to the naming of Bear Butte occurred more recently. The region of Bear Butte, on the northern edge of the Black Hills, was a regular gathering place of the various bands of the Lakota. Grand council meetings and ceremonies such as vision quests and sundances were held there. Sometime around 1840, the father of Crazy Horse sought a vision on the top of a high hill. The older Crazy Horse was a great holy man and he had climbed the hill to seek spiritual guidance. There, Wakantanka appeared to him in the form of a bear and bestowed upon the man the power to overcome obstacles and vanquish enemies. The holy man requested that such a sacred gift be bestowed on his son, the young Crazy Horse. This was duly granted and thereafter the sharply rising hill became known as Mato Paha, or Bear Butte.

© 2002 by Bornali Halder

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