#pipestone

Beaver Effigy Pipe (circa A.D. 200-400)  Pipestone with mother of pearl and bone inlay. Hopewell Culture, from Tremper Mound in Scioto County, Ohio.

Kathryn Vinson (American, born and working in Colorado)

Cicada - chlorite, pipestone, gold leaf - 8'' long

www.kathrynvinson.com/

www.instagram.com/vinsonkathrynart/

You've probably heard the expression "pass the peace pipe." It might have been when two parties struck a compromise after previously being at an impasse. The phrase comes from early American settlers and soldiers who noticed Indigenous peoples smoking ceremonial pipes during treaty signings. They misunderstood this to mean pipe smoking symbolized peacemaking in Native American culture and hence the word "peace pipe" and phrases like "pass the peace pipe" came about.

But, like many conventional American ideas about the history and culture of Indigenous peoples, the term peace pipe is a misnomer, says Gabrielle Drapeau, an interpretive park ranger at Minnesota's Pipestone National Monument and an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Tribal enrollment requirements preserve the unique character and traditions of each tribe. The tribes establish membership criteria based on shared customs, traditions, language and tribal blood.

Many Native Americans smoke pipes -- and not just in recognition of peace, but in ceremony and prayer as well as a way to connect with God. "So, don't use the term peace pipe," Drapeau says. "It's just pipe."

But these were -- and are still -- not just pipes. These artifacts, the tradition of pipe smoking and the ceremonies during which they are smoked hold far more significance for American Indian peoples across North America than the misnomer conveys.

A Short History of the Ceremonial Pipe

There is no singular word for these ceremonial pipes that spans all Native American cultures. The broad term often given to them is calumet, from the French word chalumet, which means reed or flute. Various tribes have their own unique names in their own languages. For example, the Lakota sacred pipe is called a chanunpa.

Ceremonial pipes have been a part of several Native American cultures for at least 5,000 years and are still used for ceremony and prayer. "I grew up this way. It's the only way I know how to pray," Drapeau says. "To me, it is like a physical representation of your connection to God."

Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota continues to be an important cultural and spiritual site for Indigenous communities.  

Modern Tribes continue quarrying the sacred pipestone rock, just as their ancestors did for thousands of years before them.