The Red Rocks You Didn't Realize Are Sacred
Most of us take all the random rocks and boulders that dot the landscape of Minnesota for granted because we have been told that Minnesota is littered with stones left behind by the receding glaciers thousands of years ago. These rocks are called “erratics”.
Some people buy expensive rocks to add interest to their landscaping. Others get left where they lie by construction crews because they are too expensive to remove. But there are rocks, hidden in plain sight, that are special. On closer inspection, these rocks are recognizable because they are not the same type of rock naturally found in the area around them. For example - a granite rock found where sandstone is more common or vice versa. More than a dozen rocks in southern Minnesota, that have mysteriously moved themselves to a new location, are sacred to the Dakota. Whether by movement of the glaiciers, by some spiritual/gravitational force or by the effects of the weather on the land, the Dakota have observed the tracks that the rocks have made. These rocks are alive and have a spirit. Two of these sacred rocks have moved farther and more often than the others.
Eyah Shaw - Red Rock
The first is a large granite rock that sat at the edge of the Mississippi River. It marked the spot on the river’s edge where the Dakota village of Kaposia sat. It was the summer camp for the tribe, close to the sacred cave called Wakan Tipi (later known as Carver’s Cave) and beneath the bluffs where they buried their dead. The Dakota ritually painted the rock with red vermillion and it became a landmark to stop at and give thanks. The Dakota would smoke their pipes and leave offerings. The rock was called Eyah Shaw - Red Rock.
This red rock was not an obscure marker only noticeable by the Dakota familiar to the area. It was noticed by early European explorers Lieutenant Zebulon Pike in 1805 and Stephen Long in 1823, who both made note of it in their journals and reports. It was also noticed by the artist, Henry Lewis, in the mid-1840s and depicted in his drawing “Rothe Felsen” or Red Rocks.
Rothe Felsen or “Red Rocks” by Henry Lewis. The sacred rock is at the lower left.
After the Treaty of 1837, the Methodist Missionary, Reverend Benjamin T. Kavanaugh built a mission house near the Red Rock. He came to convert the Dakota to Christianity, but wasn’t very successful. Yet the white settlement around the mission grew. The village even named itself Red Rock, but later changed it to Newport to distance itself from their native neighbors. Annual Methodist Camp Meetings, enormous gatherings, were held at Newport and became famous for their size. In 1939, the Methodist church camp moved to Medicine Lake. They also moved the mission house and the sacred red rock. It became a kind of mascot for the camp and groups took pictures with it. In 1969, when the church moved into a new building back at Newport, the mission house and rock were moved again.
Another sacred rock, located in what is now Eden Prairie, was such a landmark that it gave its name to Red Rock Lake. That rock was moved so many times that its purpose and meaning were almost forgotten. It was painted and turned into a sign for the Red Rock horse ranch in the 60s, then later painted with graffiti in the 80s. Luckily, longtime residents who remembered its significance moved it again and again to protect it.
Why did it need protection? Well, at different times in history there were concerted efforts to destroy native artifacts. Sacred rocks were buried or even exploded with dynamite to destroy them.
Eventually, the rock ended up as landscaping in a front yard, but for safekeeping. The yard belonged to the President of the Eden Prairie Historical Society. They knew the significance of the rock, but didn’t know what needed to be done to return the rock to the Dakota. When a Dakota filmmaker came to the society looking for any sign of the rock, their efforts paid off and they knew exactly where it was. Last year, after the Dakota could perform the ceremonies they felt were needed, the sacred rock was returned to an undisclosed location among the Dakota.
The Methodist Church in Newport has also committed to returning that Red Rock. The Dakota will decide when the spirits of the sacred rock are ready to go home.
In the meantime, the Dakota is keeping details of where the other sacred rocks are located. So the next time you spot a boulder that seems like it doesn’t belong, maybe stop and share a moment with the spirits that brought it there.
