West River Eagle

Mahto Paha: a place of ceremony


Jay Cook of Eagle Butte submitted this photo of Bear Butte. Cook took photos of the sacred butte on his way to and from the Lakota Nation Invitiational competitions this past weekend in Rapid City. Cook explained that he encountered a woman who seemed suspicisous of him at first, but after Cook explained the butte looks like a sleeping bear from the angle at which they stood, her attitude changed, and she had a different perspective when they parted. Bear Butte has many names, Cook said, Mahpiya Oyate, Cloud Nation, Omniciye-meetings, Tunkasilas-grandfather — all different interpretations of Mahto Paha — a place of ceremony for many nations. Cook captured the butte with a halo encitcling its peak, and fall reaching for it across the prairie.

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