Devils Tower, an 865-foot-tall monolith resembling a petrified tree stump in northeastern Wyoming, is a national monument. However, the prominent butte's name has always been considered offensive and satanic by local Indian tribes. Now, even though there's no current proposal for a name change, a battle is heating up over both the historical accuracy and the sinister connotations of the Devils Tower title.
The U.S. Board of Geographic Names' Domestic Names Committee discussed the tower's name for an hour last week while meeting at the Red Lion Hotel."Everyone's at the poker table," Devils Tower National Monument superintendent Deb Liggett said at the meeting. "This is an ongoing conversation."
She's not sure when - and if - an official name change will ever be presented, but it's become a hot topic anyway.
"The name Devils Tower. . . . It is very offensive. It is satanistic," Steve Brady, a representative for the North Cheyenne Tribe, said.
He said the butte and the entire area is an integral part of religious history for many Indian tribes. He considers the Black Hills area a holy land, like Jerusalem, and favors a name change back to an Indian title - such as Bear Lodge.
Johnson Holy Rock, another member of a local tribe and representative for the Grey Eagle Society, agrees.
"The name just does not seem to fit," he said, explaining "Bear Lodge Butte" is what his father and grandfather called the tower.
However, he admits his argument is spiritual and that the counterargument is economic. He'd just like the issue resolved as soon as possible.
"We'd like to see the name left as Devils Tower," said Mayor Velma Brandenburg of the nearby town of Pine Haven.
She believes her views are typical of many other local leaders and residents.
Jerry Knapp, who lives near Devils Tower, believes a name change is totally unnecessary. He said the tower is as sacred to him as the Indians and it's the current name he wants kept. He's also heard some government legislation is in the works to halt any future name change.
Most agree the name is historically inaccurate but question the logic of changing it now, given the name's century-long presence.
Liggett said a compromise could perhaps be reached by eventually changing the name of the butte to satisfy Indian religions but keeping the title of the national monument the same.
Roger L. Payne, executive secretary of the U.S. Geological Survey, said several names are also sometimes used on maps for the same feature, with a main one and another name put in brackets. He said this practice is acceptable, though discouraged.
Research by historian Linda Zellmer indicates that "Bear Lodge" was the original Indian name and appeared on Wyoming area maps until the early 1900s. Col. Richard Dodge applied the Devils Tower name in 1875 on some maps.
One theory for the Devil name creeping in is that the Sioux word for "bad spirits" is so similar to the word for "black bear" that someone might have gotten confused. Most Indian tribes don't even have a word for devil.
The Domestic Names Committee does handle requests to change offensive names. In fact, on Thursday the committee approved changing several features in Minnesota. Squaw Point was changed to Oak Point and Squaw Lake was switched to Equay Lake.
Liggett said name changes make national parks and monuments more popular and can increase visitation by 20 percent or more because of media attention. Almost half a million visitors a year come to Devils Tower.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Indian references
Here are some old Indian names for Devils Tower, translated into English: - Bear Lodge - Bear's Lodge - Grizzly Bear's Lodge - Tree Rock - Grey Horne Butte - Bear's Tipi - Bear's Lair