Last two weekends in July and first weekend in AugustPipestone, Minnesota, was named for the soft red stone used by the Native American Dakota tribe to make their ceremonial pipes. The Dakotas believe that their tribe originated here, and that the stone was colored by the blood of their ancestors.
On weekends in late July and early August each year, the story of Hiawatha (Haionhwat'ha, fl. c.1570)—the chief of the Onondaga tribe immortalized in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem, "Song of Hiawatha"—is told in symbolic pantomime with traditional Indian music and dances. The audience watches the performance from the opposite side of a quiet reflecting pool that lies at the bottom of the pipestone quarry where the pageant is held.
The Great Spirit appears at the top of the cliff, where he shows his children the pink stone and makes a calumet or peace pipe. With the last whiff on his pipe, the Great Spirit disappears in a cloud of smoke. The Three Maidens, who once guarded the place where the Great Spirit lived, can be seen in the form of three huge boulders. The pageant ends with the death of Hiawatha and his departure on a "long and distant journey."
CONTACTS:
Hiawatha Club
P.O. Box 1
Pipestone, MN 56164
800-430-4126 or 507-825-3316; fax: 507-825-3317
www.pipestoneminnesota.com