The First Amendment battle born of a climbing ban at Devil’s Tower, Wyoming

The Bitter Battle for Devils Tower’s Sacred Stone

Devils Tower National Monument became ground zero for a five-year legal battle that pitted sacred ceremonies against climbing culture.

In 1995, the Park Service asked climbers to avoid the tower during June to respect Native American Sun Dance ceremonies.

Twenty-three tribes consider the massive rock formation holy ground. Commercial guide Andy Petefish sued in 1996, claiming it violated his First Amendment rights.

Courts ultimately sided with the tribes in 1999, but tensions remain as more climbers ignore the June request each year.

Here’s how this bitter fight unfolded at America’s first national monument.

Sacred Site Became a Battleground in the 1990s

In the early 1990s, Devils Tower saw growing fights between Native American ceremonies and rock climbers.

Twenty-three Northern Plains tribes saw the tall rock formation as a holy place for their yearly Sun Dance ceremonies. Meanwhile, climbing had grown huge, with over 4,500 climbers on the tower each year by the mid-90s.

Many tribe members felt climbers, especially those hammering bolts into the rock, ruined their sacred ceremonies.

Three Years of Talks Tried to Find Middle Ground

In 1992, the National Park Service began making a climbing plan for Devils Tower.

They formed groups with Native Americans, Sierra Club members, Access Fund folks, and climbing supporters. Tim Reid, the park boss, said everyone worked together to find a compromise.

The planning took three years as they tried to balance sacred ceremonies with recreational climbing.

Park Service Asked Climbers to Stay Away in June

After three years of meetings and planning, the Park Service released its climbing plan in 1995.

It asked climbers to avoid Devils Tower during June when most Native American ceremonies took place.

Reid said tribe leaders liked the voluntary approach better than a strict ban. The plan tried to respect Native American cultural events while still letting people climb.

Climbers Respected the Ban at First

The voluntary closure worked really well at first. Before the plan, more than 1,200 people climbed Devils Tower in June.

That number dropped to just 167 the next season. “We had an 85 percent compliance rate,” said park official Debbie Liggett.

Most climbers chose to honor the request out of respect. The Access Fund supported the closure and urged members to climb in other months.

Commercial Guides Got Hit Harder Than Hobbyists

The original plan treated paid climbing guides differently from regular climbers.

While hobby climbers could choose whether to respect the June closure, the plan fully banned commercial guides during that month.

This made many professional guides feel unfairly targeted.

Andy Petefish, who ran Tower Guides, got especially upset about these limits and started looking for ways to fight them.

Lawsuit Claimed the Ban Promoted Religion

In November 1996, the Mountain States Legal Foundation helped several climbing guides sue Devils Tower’s boss, the National Park Service, and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

The Bear Lodge Multiple Use Association joined Andy Petefish in the case. They argued that the ban broke the First Amendment by promoting Native American practices.

The lawsuit claimed the government couldn’t legally favor one religion over other uses of public land.

Judge Temporarily Blocked the Commercial Ban

Judge William Downes sided with the climbers at first, blocking the ban on June 8, 1996. This ruling let commercial guides keep working that summer.

Downes wrote, “Such rules make climbers change their behavior to help with American Indians’ religious needs. This counts as wrong government involvement with religion.”

The case continued through the courts while guides went back to work.

Park Officials Changed Their Approach

Before the court case ended, the Park Service smartly changed their climbing plan. They made the June closure voluntary for everyone, including paid guides.

This removed the strict ban that started the lawsuit. Now both hobby and commercial climbers had the same deal:

They could choose whether to climb in June, but the Park Service strongly asked them to visit in other months to respect Native ceremonies.

First Court Victory Went to the Tribes

On April 2, 1998, Judge Downes threw out the case brought by Petefish and Bear Lodge.

His 19-page ruling said the voluntary ban “accommodates rather than promotes, and so has a legal non-religious purpose.”

The court found that simply making room for Native American practices didn’t break the Constitution. Unhappy with this result, the climbers took their case to a higher court.

Appeals Court Shut Down the Case for Good

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals backed the Park Service’s plan on April 26, 1999. The court ruled that rock climbers couldn’t prove they suffered any real harm.

The judges noted that climbers remained “undeterred” by the plan, so they had “no actual injury.” In March 2000, the Supreme Court refused to hear the climbers’ appeal, making the lower court’s decision final.

The Compromise Slowly Unraveled Over Time

Arvol Looking Horse, a spiritual leader from the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, celebrated the legal win: “Once again, we can worship in our traditional way without problems at this sacred site.”

As of June 2016, climbing has grown to 373 people.

Park boss Reid noted, “It’s been slowly trending up. Most June climbing comes from local or regional climbers who find it personally okay to climb in June.”

The voluntary closure remains today, but fewer climbers honor it each year.

Visiting Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming

You’ll need a $25 vehicle pass (card only) and free climbing permits for Devils Tower National Monument at PO Box 10, Devils Tower, WY 82714.

The 1995-2000 legal battle over Sacred Ground versus Rock Climbing Rights created tension between Native ceremonies and climbing culture.

The Park Service requests voluntary climbing closure in June to respect tribal ceremonies.

Check out the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps visitor center with exhibits, plus 50 Belle Fourche River Campground sites at $20 daily.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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