Located in rural southwestern Minnesota, the pipestone quarries are considered a sacred site by many American Indians. For the last 2000-3000 years tribes across the central region of North America have traveled to this site to quarry. Today, they still travel long distances to continue the tradition of pipemaking.  

“An Act to establish the Pipestone National Monument in the State of Minnesota, approved August 25, 1937, (16 U.S.C. sec. 445c) Sec. 3. The quarrying of the red pipestone in the lands described in section 1 is hereby expressly reserved to Indians of all tribes, under regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior.”

With passage of this law Congress provided direction to the National Park Service to allow for the continued quarrying of pipestone. Legal opinions have since concluded that Congress’s intent was that Sec. 3 applied to American Indians enrolled in tribes recognized by the U.S. Government. While this conclusion may exclude some Indians from tribes not yet federally recognized it does include members from over 562 tribal groups. The monument utilizes the Federal Register notice of November 25, 2005 (Vol. 70, No. 226) in determining the status of an applicant.

Since 1946 the 54 pipestone quarries have been managed by issuance of a quarry permit. To get a permit, an American Indian completes a simple application with basic contact information. Upon verification that they are enrolled in a tribe recognized by the U.S. Government, the applicant's name is placed on the quarry permit waiting list. With over 75 names currently on the list, applicants will wait 4-5 years before receiving a permit.  Once a permit is available, the applicant will be contacted, and if still interested, a permit will be issued by the Monument’s Superintendent. It is extremely important that applicants provide current addresses and telephone numbers by updating their information as needed to ensure they can be reached when a permit becomes available.

Please review the related links for more information on quarrying of pipestone and if necessary contact monument staff with more specific questions.