A Message from Garcia: The Devil’s Tooth parts 1 & 2

Dear Readers: It was pointed out to me that I forgot to publish the second half of Mr. Garcia’s story titled “The Devil’s Tooth” – the first half ran in the May 28, 2024 issue of the Devils Lake Journal. The second half SHOULD have run in the next Tuesday’s paper but it did not. I am running the entire column again, here, for those of you who are collecting the Messages from Louis. Please accept my appologies for the error. — Louise Oleson, editor

The Devil’s Tooth (parts 1 and 2):

To the Dakota Nation, Stone (Inyan) is the oldest of all the Spirits that make up the Sixteen Spirits of God, the TobTob Kin (The Four Fours). There are many sacred stones in the land of the Dakota. All were venerated, painted red and offerings presented to the Stone Spirit.

A large erratic bolder deposited by the last Ice Age lies next to a highly traveled road in the Third Commissioners District, Benson County. Due to its shape, it appeared to non-Indians, to resemble a tooth. Because it was in the Devils Lake area, the name was shortened to Devils Tooth.

It is known locally as The Stone Woman of the Sacred Water (Miniwakan Inyan Winyan). To others it was known simply as the Big Stone (Inyantanka).

The Lake Region was originally owned by the Hidatsa Nation, who moved west to the Missouri River sometime about the year 1500. When the Dakota people began visiting the area some 200 years later, it is not known if they knew the story of this stone or if they considered it sacred. During the Reservation Period (circa 1870) the Hidatsa came back to visit the Dakota at Spirit Lake, and told them the story of the stone.

A certain Hidatsa man took a second wife as was the custom. This was allowed because of the high mortality rate among males due to war and hunting accidents. The first wife was mortified; “he told me I was to be the only one”. She packed up her baby on her back and left the hunting camp. In a great state of shock, crying, not knowing what to do, she wandered aimlessly about. Finally, she slumped down and pouted (Wacinko), a culturally understood motionless state refusing to eat or drink.

Back at the hunting camp it was discovered she was missing. Her brother questioned the husband, his brother-in-law, and was dismissed saying “she is just mad and will return when she is ready”. The next day the brother was adamant when she failed to return. According to custom a woman’s brother is her protector, no harm can come to his sister. In fear of retaliation the husband joined his brother-in-law and others in search of the woman and her child.

Fanning out across the area they found her sitting on the ground with the child in her arms. She was half turned to stone. Repeated pleadings were of no avail, she would turn herself into a stone and the baby too. She told her family that whenever they were in this area to remember and visit her, to bring her food and gifts. The woman’s family called upon Holy Men to turn her back to human state with prayers and ceremony, without result (Albers 1969:4-5; Diedrich 2007: 60, 176; Kenner 2013:96-98).

So the Stone Woman and her child sit there today, but alas she is neglected by the local people. The gravel road which passed right next to her has been moved south and modernized with asphalt. The stone is now within the confines of the Buffalo Pasture, with a split rail fence surrounding her to keep the buffalo from using her as a rubbing stone. It is dangerous to go inside the fence due to the presence of the buffalo, so no one goes inside the buffalo fence to pay homage to the woman and her child. It has been suggested that a road sign be installed as a tourist attraction. However the elderly vetoed the idea saying people will be throwing trash in the area spoiling the sacredness of the spot.

Now we move on to the second tale concerning the sacred stone. Somehow within the last 20 years another story has come to life. A true story, but taken out of context, as some believe the stone represents a woman who froze to death near the stone.

On March 15^th, 1920 Mrs. Andrew Whitehead age 39 and her 3-year-old son were traveling in a sleigh, and became lost in a sudden March blizzard. The mother took the blankets and wrapped up her son Tatankainapena (Appearing Bull) to protect him from the storm. They found her frozen to death, but the boy better known as William Whitehead was alive. In the blinding blizzard See’s, the Road (Mrs. Whitehead) could not get the horses to move as one had frozen to death, not perceiving her location decided to stay with the sleigh. Unfortunately, Bill, as he was known, would later regret that his mother saved his life, saying “she should have let me die too”.

Mrs. Whitehead had donated a pot of soup to some function. She insisted on delivering the soup even though it was snowing. On her trip home after completing her task, the storm struck. Becoming lost in the whirling sea of white, she let the horses go, wrapped up her son in blankets and put him between her legs, sat down in the sleigh to wait out the blizzard wrapped only in a shawl. So she froze to death sitting upright. The faithful mother sacrificing herself to save her child (Lorraine Greybear 2015).

Not wanting to end this Message on a sad note, Ambrose Littleghost told me a funny story concerning this sacred stone, now called Devils Tooth. Okitaninwin (Conspicuous Woman) was returning from Ft. Totten. She had gone there to get her land lease money and then stopped to buy some supplies at the Fort Totten Trading Post. She was walking from the fort with a walking stick in one hand, and a sack of supplies slung over her shoulder.

She lived at the Mission where Francis Owlboy lives today. When she reached the holy stone, she laid out some food before the woman and her baby as it was told passerby’s should do. If you look today you will notice a small hill or rise in the ground directly behind the stone. Two boys possibly runaways from the boarding school saw the woman coming and hid behind the hill out of sight. Conspicuous Woman sat down, prayed and then told the woman and child to eat the food she brought. The two boys behind the hill said “Okay grandma”. She jumped up in shock, even though she was an elderly woman ran off as fast as her legs could carry her.

This ancient event of a sitting woman is also similar to the “Legend of Standing Rock” at Fort Yates, North Dakota. According to a Yanktonai Winter Count the Standing Rock woman turned to stone in the year 1740. “Winyan wan wacinko ecekna inyan kaġa” A woman pouted and she turned herself into stone. This stone originally belonged to the Arikara Nation before it was acquired by the Lakota (Howard 1976:31-33).

Bibliography

Albers, Patricia “Dakota Beliefs Surrounding Devil’s Lake, North Dakota.

Bulletin of the American Indian Institute.

University of South Dakota 1969 (3): 4-5.

Densmore, Frances Teton Sioux Music, Smithsonian Institute, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin 61. Washington Printing Office 1918.

Diedrich, Mark Mni Wakan Oyate: A History of the Sisitunwan, Wahpeton, Pabaksa, and Other Dakota that Settled at Spirit Lake, North Dakota. Ft. Totten, ND: Cankdeska Cikana Community College Publishing 2007.

Foley, Thomas W. Father Francis M. Craft: Missionary to the Sioux.

Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press 2002.

Howard James, Henri “Yanktonai Ethnohistory and the John K. Bear Winter Count. Plains Anthropologist 21 (73, part 2) August 1976.

Kenner, Corrine The Ghosts of Devils Lake: True Stories from My Haunted Hometown. Privately Printed 2013.

Newspaper Account Benson County Farmers Press, Volume 37 (13) Friday March 19, 1920. Minnewaukan, ND

(Thank you Kelly L. Glover).

Glossary

Alberts, George A son of See’s the Road Woman and Joseph Alberts.

Brother Protector For an example of this Law see Father Craft

(Foley 2002:29)

Brothers-in Law Tahaŋkiciyapi, according to Dakota custom are friends yet rivals. They try and discover embarrassing situations to tell on each other. I will tell what happened to me as an example. My Tahaŋ came rushing into the house announcing that my brother Laurence, whom I had not seen in years, was here. I rushed out to greet him, only to discover a toothless white man, no shirt, or shoes, and dressed in farmer overalls. This visitor was here to ask directions. My Tahaŋ howled with laughter to my chagrin. He got me good.

Devils Tooth NE ¼ of NW ¼ Section 13, T152-N – R65W.

Third Commissioners District, Benson County, North Dakota.

Greybear, Lorraine Mrs. Greybear remembered hearing the story of Mrs. Whitehead freezing to death from her mother Rose Littlewind-Thomas. She went on to say that the boy would not have been placed under his mother’s dress as this would be Waŝikte, a violation of the child’s sacredness.

Offerings, tobacco Caŋdiwapa’ĥta. A pipe full of tobacco incased in a dried buffalo or steer bladder and tied to the top of a yard long stick thrust upright in the earth. This served as an offering to the Spirits. A number of tobacco offerings or Wounye, according to tradition were placed on the south side of the Sitting Woman and her baby. An example of these offerings can be seen on Plate 15, Bulletin 61, by Francis Densmore.

Okitaninwin (Conspicuous Woman) 303-771, 1822-1916.

Whitehead, Mrs. Andrew Cankuwayakewin (See’s the Road Woman) 303-466, 1881- 1920. The mother of George Alberts 1910 – 1993 and William Whitehead 1917-1993.

Whitehead, William Tatankainapena (1917-1993) Bill worked at the Fisher Auto Body Company in Cleveland, Ohio. He was “relocated” to Ohio where he could find employment as little or none was available on the Spirit Lake Reservation. He was the Head Singer at the local Indian Center in Cleveland. He would often have tears in his eyes as he related the story of his mother’s death to me. His father was Andrew Whitehead (Waŝicupaskana), who was way off in Montana visiting relatives when his wife froze to death. Bill’s son, William Whitehead Junior lives in Wolf Point, Montana. William Junior is credited with starting the Native American Educational Services (NAES) in 1978, a four year college in Chicago, Wolf Point, and Poplar, MT, Menominee, WI., and Minneapolis, MN. He was also elected as a state Representative for Montana (Interview with Richard DeCelles, Wolf Point, MT March 2015).

Winter Count Waniyetu Wowapi (Winter Record) is a pictographic record of the most important event which occurred in the past winter (The last season of the year). Later in the 1880’s the pictorial record was put into written form. The John K. Bear Winter Count, named after the last owner records the years 1682 to 1883. The entry for the year 1740 “Winyan wan wacinko ecekna, Inyan kaġa” (A woman pouted and turned to stone). This records the event that formed the Standing Rock stone.