About 150 people are gathered at the base of Bear Butte near Sturgis this weekend to pray, share stories and feel the spiritual presence of a mountain held sacred by Native American tribes.

The Spiritual Unity of Tribes Gathering of Eagles, which is being held at Free Spirit Campground, began Thursday and will conclude Sunday evening, June 29, with most of the participants expected to depart Monday afternoon.

By then, they hope to have made human connections in ways that can spread throughout the world.

"We're here to experience community. There's people here from all over the world - Australia, Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico - and a lot of people from around here," organizer Clayton Uptain of Rapid City said. "The idea is to get together and learn how to get along with each other and live in unity."

Based in part on a vision of unity expressed by the Lakota holy man Black Elk, the spiritual-unity gatherings began in Canada 19 years ago and have been held in South Dakota and other states each year since.

Australian John Palmer is among those who have been camped at the Free Spirit Campground since Thursday. Palmer works with aboriginal people in Australia, and he came to Gathering of the Eagles, drawn by the sacred butte that looms above the campground.

Kimberlaine Willoughby felt the same spiritual pull. She is a member of the Bitter Water Clan of the Navajo Nation, and she joined the gathering from her home in Mexican Springs, N.M.

"I haven't climbed the butte yet, but I'm drawn to it," she said.

She first came to the gathering in 1996 with her late grandmother. This year, she's back with her mother, Edith, and other family members.

"It's my honor to bring my mother to this now," she said.

The group held sessions under a pine-bough-covered arbor, where they've kept a sacred fire burning night and day, Uptain said.

For more information about the gathering, go to www.sut-gatheringofeagles.org.

Journal staff writer Mary Garrigan contributed to this story.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com