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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781609493257 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Arcadia Publishing SC |
| Publication date: | 09/04/2012 |
| Series: | Haunted America |
| Pages: | 112 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Native American Ghost Stories of the Black Hills
As a preface, this chapter uses some terminology that is Lakota rather than English. Translating this language into English is very difficult as there's not an exact word-for-word translation. The same also applies to the spelling of these words. The Lakota people and their language, much like their history, is oral or spoken word. The spelling of these words is based on phonetics by the authors.
With the Black Hills of South Dakota having been a spiritual epicenter for the Native American people, we would be remiss not to speak about the spiritual attachment that these people have with the area. Despite inhabiting the surrounding area, the Lakota people did not venture into the Black Hills very often. The land is considered sacred, believed to be the "heart of the turtle island." The "turtle" refers to North America, with the Black Hills being the center (or "heart"). The land was used as a sacred burial ground and was also reserved for special ceremonies.
A pair of geographical landmarks surrounding the Black Hills reveals a look into the spiritual connections to the area for the Lakota people. One Lakota creation story tells about seven young girls being chased by a great bear. The girls fled, praying to the creator to protect them from the bear. The creator responded and made a massive tree rise beneath them to protect them from the bear. The bear began clawing in vain at the tree to reach the girls, but the tree continued growing higher and higher. The girls ultimately reached the sky and were turned into the constellation known today as the Pleiades. Exhausted, the bear left and found a spot to lie down to sleep. The bear never rose again and became a permanent fixture of the topography of the Black Hills. Matho' Paha' ("Bear Mountain" in Lakota) is known today as Bear Butte, located outside Sturgis, South Dakota. The tree that ultimately saved the girls also became a part of the earth, known as Devils Tower.
The authors have the incredible honor of being friends with Earnest (Ernie) Wayne LaPointe. Ernie is the great-grandson of Sitting Bull and one of his wives, Seen By Her Nation. Ernie was born on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota. At the age of eighteen, Ernie joined the military and served for six years, including one tour in Vietnam. Ernie has chosen to live the traditional Lakota way and follows the rules of the sacred pipe as a sun dancer. Ernie has assisted in the creation of several television documentaries and books. Ernie also has produced DVDs telling the story of Sitting Bull as it was passed down to him. Ernie assisted in our paranormal investigations by interpreting EVPs (electronic voice phenomena) that were found to be Nakota (a dialect of the Lakota language). Much of the information in this chapter came from Ernie's incredible storytelling. Ernie described two types of spirits commonly encountered:
The Lakota have their own beliefs when it comes to the paranormal. They believe in two different types of spirits. The first type is known as a Tunkan. Tunkan are widely regarded as positive and helpful spirits. These were good people in life who learned to balance their spirit, mind, heart and body. Upon death, they made the journey to the spirit world. Their spirit was accompanied by their spirit guide to the spirit world. Tunkan are able to travel freely between our physical world and the spirit realm. Tunkan come to people in visions often and help them. Tunkan are appeased by offering food and tobacco. They don't eat in the way we think, but rather by scent. Tunkan are obedient; they help when given an offering and do as they are asked. Tunkan are known to specifically target women.
The other type of spirit is known as a Wanugi. This spirit is generally filled with jealousy and greed in life. Often times, these spirits don't know that they have died as their death was tragic and sudden. Other times, they do know they have passed on, but are not aware that the journey to the spirit world would benefit them. Wanugi are viewed as deceitful and misleading, generally mischievous. Wanugi generally come out during the New Moon phase, when the Lakota believe the moon dies. Lakota are told to avoid going outside during the new moon for this reason.
Ernie said, "If you encounter a Wanugi, you may not see anything, but you will smell the scent of sulfur or rotten eggs. This is dangerous, because you don't want the Wanugi to touch you." He went on to say this about Wanugi spirits:
Maybe a spirit says to these Wanugi in the native tongue "come with me" and the Wanugi doesn't understand and cannot make the journey to the spirit world. Maybe that's why they haunt places, why they become attached to things or places. It's something that you need to understand, not to be attached to physical things, or that can lead you to become a Wanugi.
The Lakota engage in a ritual known as "smudging." This practice refers to the binding of sage sticks together and burning them. The smoke that is produced is used to cleanse. Tunkan are attracted to the smell of sage being burnt. Wanugi, on the other hand, do not like the smell of sage, and it repels them. Smudging is common in other belief structures as well, being practiced in medicinal and religious situations.
Another means of protecting the soul or spirit was the practice of warriors painting their faces and bodies before battle. LaPointe pointed out that the practice of painting the body was meant to protect the warrior's spirit if killed in battle; it was not intended as "war paint," as many believe.
LaPointe told a story about going to Washington, D.C., to reclaim some artifacts from the Smithsonian Institute that had belonged to his great-grandfather, Chief Sitting Bull, and returning home with more than he bargained for. The Smithsonian invited LaPointe to claim what belonged to his family. When he arrived, he smoked a traditional pipe and prayed in order to find his great-grandfather's belongings. When he prayed, he saw an eagle, his spirit guide, which landed on objects belonging to Sitting Bull.
LaPointe also brought with him a Lakota medicine man to assist during the ceremonies at the museum. On the flight home, the medicine man confided to LaPointe that some of the spirits that were in the museum were also on the plane with them. The medicine man told him that there were hundreds, maybe even thousands, of spirits in the museum during their visit. The man told LaPointe that they had opened a gate while in the Smithsonian and that about 250 to 300 of these spirits were following him to his home in Lead, South Dakota. He told LaPointe that when he got home he should give the spirits offerings of food. When he arrived home, LaPointe described hearing all sorts of noises in the home, as if there were many other people there. LaPointe knew that he was not alone and continued to hear and experience walking and talking and even singing throughout the home. LaPointe's wife, Sonja, made a plate of food for the spirits from every single meal they had in the home as an offering. After about a week, the medicine man told him to ask the spirits if they'd agree to go to the spirit world. LaPointe conducted a ceremony, asking for his own spirits to guide the lost spirits to Bear Butte so that they could find their way to the spirit world. Soon, the spirits started to leave, and soon the strange noises in the home began to subside.
It was a bittersweet experience for both Ernie and Sonja. They were slowly getting their home back to normal; however, they had grown accustomed to the spirit visitors, so it was a bit of an adjustment. When asked why all of the spirits didn't follow him home, Ernie pointed out the fact that opening and closing the door at the Smithsonian was like a vortex at the time — a passage door had only temporarily been opened. He did express sadness for the spirits still there, citing the joy that he received from helping the spirits that did follow him home. Ernie stated that the spirits at the Smithsonian were attached to these objects because the objects often weren't given away — they were taken. This meant that the spirits had not been freed from their attachment.
Ernie went on to say that if you get attached to a house and then pass on, you're still attached to that house. If someone goes and remodels it, that energy is still there. At that point, you unleash a spirit, and the spirit isn't happy to see its home change. This leads to an interesting parallel to the paranormal investigation field. It is common to see paranormal activity pick up or become more prevalent when remodeling or when any changes are made.
Even the creation story of the Lakota people is incredibly spiritual. The Black Hills are called the heart of the turtle island. When we asked what that meant, LaPointe related the following story to us:
The creator was on his buffalo robe after the giant flood, floating on top of the water with his pipe. A bird was flying nearby. Some say it was a crow, others say a hawk or eagle that was flying. There was no land, and the bird yelled down that he needed a place to land. The creator reached into his bag and pulled out a loon and told the loon to dive down and pull up some mud. The loon came back up and said that it could not see the bottom. Next, the creator pulled out the otter and the otter was gone a little longer and said that it could not see the bottom. The creator pulled out the beaver and said to use your flat tail to propel yourself to the bottom and bring me some mud. The beaver was gone a little while and came back to say it could see the bottom but was unable to get to it. The creator pulled out the turtle and tasked him the same. While the turtle was gone, the other animals and the creator began to sing songs. The loon told the creator that the turtle must have died. Then the turtle broke the surface with mud covering the claws and shell. The creator used this mud to create land and man.
The story of the Black Hills also has an amazing story from the Lakota. The Black Hills were host to a race between the two-legged creatures and the four-legged creatures to see who would be allowed to consume the other. The buffalo was winning the race, but unbeknownst to the buffalo, a magpie was sitting on its horns. At the last second, the magpie flew forward and won the race for the two-legged creatures, which is why man now eats the meat of animals.
LaPointe not only experienced paranormal activity in his own home but has also encountered his fair share in other locations. LaPointe told of an experience he had at the Fairmont Hotel, which is discussed in a later chapter. While at the Fairmont, he was near where the slot machines are now, and as he was looking at a machine, he saw movement in his peripheral vision. He looked up and saw a woman walk up a staircase through a chain blocking the entrance. LaPointe asked about the female he had seen but was told that there was no one there by that description. LaPointe described the female apparition as wearing a white top and either wearing a hat or sporting a tall hairstyle.
LaPointe also described another paranormal experience he had while in Deadwood:
I never get shocked by spirits, but I did one time at the Gold Dust in Deadwood. I was in the bathroom, I was washing my hands and I felt a guy standing there by the towels. I saw him clearly in my peripheral vision; he was wearing a white shirt and black pants. I looked back into the mirror, and he wasn't there. I came out of the bathroom, and Sonja looked at me and asked what was wrong; I told her I had just seen a ghost.
Clearly, the Black Hills is a mystical and spiritual center of the Native American culture. The rich and powerful tales handed down from generation to generation reveal that ghost stories are prevalent in every culture of the world. The Lakota have the Tunkan and Wanugi. We have good and evil spirits. Either way, it is clear that there are many similarities that have crossed the cultural gap. It would seem that ghost stories are similar no matter what culture you are from.
Black Hills History
Any topic of discussion related to the Black Hills is incomplete without including some mention of its incredibly significant history. One chapter cannot truly capture the richness of that history, so this is not intended to do so. Our challenge was not so much providing the reader with a considerably condensed version of that history; rather it was making sure that we provided a balanced and accurate history of the Black Hills in a condensed version. We hope that we succeeded in our efforts and properly conveyed the spirit of the Black Hills.
Appearing like a dark ghostly mirage on the rolling prairie, the Black Hills emerge out of nothingness like an island rising from the surface of a great ocean. Known to the Lakota Sioux as Paha Sapa, the Black Hills derive their name from the dark appearance that the ponderosa pines give the Hills when viewed from a distance. The Black Hills, primarily situated in western South Dakota, are about one hundred miles long and sixty miles wide. This island of granite, limestone and pine contains the highest peaks east of the majestic Rocky Mountains and was at the center of bloody conflict among native tribes long before the United States won its independence from England.
In the early 1600s, the Chippewa began migrating west from their lands, driving the Lakota and Dakota Sioux tribes inhabiting the area of present-day Minnesota into the Missouri River Valley. This westward migration of the Sioux would have a domino effect on other tribes living along the Missouri River by way of driving those tribes from their ancestral hunting grounds. The Mandan, Hidatsa and Cheyenne, being threatened by the Sioux's migration, would eventually relocate, bringing them into conflict with the tribes inhabiting the Black Hills area.
In the early 1700s, the Cheyenne defeated the Crow, Kiowa and Arapaho tribes inhabiting the regions surrounding the Black Hills. The Sioux, now occupying the lands east of the Missouri River, took advantage of a smallpox epidemic decimating tribes living on the west bank and began moving into the rolling prairie lands west of the Missouri River. In 1776, the year of American independence, Chief Standing Bull of the Oglala Sioux defeated the Cheyenne tribes occupying the Black Hills region, pushing them farther west and out of the Dakota territories. By the early 1800s, the Lakota Sioux had effectively forced out all other tribes and controlled the area around the Black Hills. However, unknown to the Sioux and other tribes, a much larger and stronger opponent was lurking on the horizon that would soon fix its attention on their lands and forever change the Native American way of life.
By the mid-nineteenth century, the United States had expanded its control of lands from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Many Americans supported this expansion through the guiding principle of Manifest Destiny. However, this policy of expansionism and an ensuing economic depression brought about deadly confrontations between the United States and native tribes occupying these lands.
During 1866–68, the United States was embroiled in an all-out war with Chief Red Cloud, an Oglala Lakota Sioux, over westward expansion on the Bozeman Trail. The United States had established forts along the Bozeman Trail to protect migrant settlers traveling to the Montana gold mines and points west. As this was an infringement on traditional Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho hunting grounds, Red Cloud went to war with the United States. Red Cloud successfully laid siege to the forts along the Bozeman Trail, forcing the United States to sue for peace. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 was the result of this war, and the treaty effectively shut down the Bozeman Trail and closed the forts protecting the trail, as well as established a great Sioux reservation that included the Black Hills. This was the first and only war the Native Americans would win against the United States Army. In less than ten years, however, the government would nullify the Sioux's rights, and the Black Hills would be populated with thousands of gold seekers and settlers.
The economic depression of 1873 struck the United States hard. Banks and railroads went bankrupt, soon followed by farmers who depended on loans from the banks and on railroads to haul their harvests; millions of people were out of work. Rumors were floated that the Black Hills land had unlimited mineral and lumber resources; this was exactly what the United States needed to infuse an anemic economy. One obstacle stood in the way of civilian exploration into the Black Hills region: the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 forbidding white encroachment into the Black Hills. Earlier attempts to explore and map the Black Hills interior by the military had been thwarted by the Sioux, citing tenets of the Fort Laramie Treaty and threatening all-out war. No one knew what mysteries the interior of the Black Hills held; it was quite literally a blank spot on the map. However, changing political policies and the economic depression ensured that the Black Hills would receive the undivided attention of the American government.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Haunted Deadwood"
by .
Copyright © 2012 Mark Shadley and Josh Wennes.
Excerpted by permission of The History Press.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 9
Introduction 11
Native American Ghost Stories of the Black Hills 13
Black Hills History 19
The Brothels 35
The "Badlands" 46
The Fairmont Hotel 58
The Bullock Hotel 64
Mount Moriah Cemetery 75
The Adams House 82
The Adams Museum 94
Haunted Deadwood Walking Tour 101
Bibliography 109
About the Authors 111