All the pipestone at the monument is mined by hand with great physical effort by enrolled ndns who have obtained permits from the NPS, to the best of my knowledge. There are other sites near the monument where red stone comes from, which is mined by machine and is of lesser quality. My understanding is that this stone from off the National Monument is not considered to be THE sacred stone (pls correct me if I am wrong.) There is also red pipestone that comes from Arizona and Ohio, and a couple of other places. The mineral content is identifiably different from that of the Pipestone Monument. Historically many nations have used red pipestone in varying degrees, most has been shown by mineralogical analysis to come from areas other than the Pipestone Monument.
