Pipestone National Monument in southwestern Minnesota preserves catlinite, the soft red stone used for ceremonial pipes and long central to Plains Indian religious life. For more than 3,000 years, Native peoples have quarried here, and the site was historically treated as neutral ground by many nations; it remains culturally important to 23 tribal nations. After treaties and land seizures tied the quarry to U.S. expansion, the Yankton Dakota secured quarry access in 1858, later defended that right in court, and won compensation in 1926. Established in 1937, the monument reaffirmed Native quarrying rights, which continue today through tribal permits and ongoing consultation.