Perceptions of the Sacred: A Review of Selected Native American Groups and their relationships with the Catlinite Quarries
Hughes DT. 1995. Perceptions of the Sacred: A Review of Selected Native American Groups and their relationships with the Catlinite Quarries. National Park Service. Lincoln, NE
Directed interviews with the Yankton Dakota Sioux Tribe, Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe, and Pipestone Dakota Community and literature survey of 21 additional tribes shows a significant diversity of traditional and contemporary opinion about the appropriate use of Catlinite, the Catlinite quarries, and the pipes and products made from Catlinite. Catlinite has been used in the recent and historic past for a variety of objects from fetishes to cups to pipes. The objects are considered by some to be sacred, and by others to be merely "special." Different cultures place different restrictions on the use and distribution of Catlinite products and some of these restrictions are contradictory. An example is the present debate over whether or not Catlinite objects (including pipes) should be sold. The historic literature and contemporary values all point to this disagreement having long roots with no resolution in sight.