Cross-cultural claims on Devils Tower National Monument: a case study

A dispute between American Indians and rock climbers over the appropriate use of Devils Tower National Monument in northeast Wyoming reflects fundamental differences in culture and world view. The United States Department of the Interior (USDI) National Park Service's (NPS) attempt to resolve this dispute with a voluntary ban on climbing during the month of June in deference to American Indian cultural and religious practices, and subsequent court rulings upholding the NPS policy, illustrate a widening circle of respect for and accommodation of divergent interpretations of humankind's relationship with the natural world.