Bear Butte Vortex

• Vortex Type: Energy

  Registered by: Vortex Hunter #47 - 07.09.11

  Bear Butte State Park is located in South Dakota, United States.

  An important landmark and religious site for the Plains Indians tribes long before Europeans reached South Dakota, Bear Butte is called Mato Paha, or Bear Mountain, by the Lakota, or Sioux. To the Cheyenne, it is Noahvose, the place where Maheo (God) imparted to Sweet Medicine, a Cheyenne prophet, the knowledge from which the Cheyenne derive their religious, political, social, and economic customs.

  The mountain is sacred to many indigenous peoples, who make pilgrimages to leave prayer cloths and bundles tied to the branches of the trees along the mountain's flanks. Other offerings are often left at the top of the mountain. The site is associated with various religious ceremonies throughout the year.

  The mountain is a place of prayer, meditation, and peace. Official park policy advises visitors to Bear Butte to respect worshippers and to leave religious offerings undisturbed.

  Bear Butte shares a similar geological history with other formations in the region, including the Black Hills, Devils Tower, the Missouri Buttes, and some parts of the Rocky Mountains.