The original Community has been resident in Pipestone since 1927 when Moses Crow moved to town. Previously Dakota people had trecked to the Pipestone Quarries to obtain their pipestone for their pipes. Joseph Taylor a Mdewakanton Dakota had been camping out at the quarry area during the summer months but actually resided in Flandreau, South Dakota. Joseph was married to Moses' sister Julia, and it was they who invited Moses to come to Pipestone to live, although he and his wife had both attended the Pipestone Indian School as children.

Moses and Estelle Crow had a number of children who grew up to have their own children and they theirs, today the sixth generation of the original family is living in Pipestone. Of the over 100 members of the Pipestone Dakota Community most are related and are the descendants of Moses and Estelle Crow.

Over the years the quarrying and pipemaking has been the main occupation of the Original Pipestone Dakota Tribal Community. They have passed the art form down from father to son, mother to daughter, and many of the family are wonderful craftspeople. Often though the native community of Pipestone were exploited, non-natives began quarrying and making money from the stone. Some of the non-native community in Pipestone decided to form an Association that would protect the quarries from exploitation.

Eventually in 1929 the Pipestone Indian Shrine Association, was set up to ask the government to set aside the area as a National Monument or Park, which would then preserve the area of the quarries. They worked with the National Park Service to make the Monument into a thriving historic and cultural park. In 1956 the Shrine reformed and incorporated to promote and preserve the art of pipemaking which at that time was a dying art form. They employed native people to interpret the quarries and the pipe, and to purchase any pipestone craft articles from the local Native Americans and then resell the items to interested buyers. The money was rolled around back into buying more crafts. A small portion of the finances went back to the Park to help maintain it. As the PISA was a non-profit group no-one made a lot of money but all the Native people were able to sell their crafts at any time they wanted to.

One thing you will be certain of is that any craft item you will get from the Community will be well made by someone who's expertise has been handed down through the family, and the stone they use will be genuine pipestone from the quarries in Pipestone, rather than the Jasper quarries. If you want the best you will get it from the Original Pipestone Dakota Tribal Community.

We hope that you will support the Original Pipestone Dakota Tribal Community.

Pidamiya (thanks) for your time.