How To Make A Native American Pipe Bag

Plains Indian Pipe and Pipe Handbag

Native American pipe

Pipes have remained an enduring symbol for native peoples.

"Many ages after the red men were made, when all the different tribes were at war, the Great Spirit sent runners and called them all together at the 'Red Piping.' He stood on the top of the rocks, and the red people were assembled in space numbers on the plains below. He took out of the rock a piece of the red stone, and made a large pipe; he smoked it over them all; told them that it was part of their flesh; that though they were at war, they must run into at this place as friends."—George Catlin, Messages and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Status of the Northward American Indians, 1844

Used both for secular and ceremonial purposes, pipes were usually brought out at group functions such equally war rallies, trading, ritual dances, healing ceremonies, union negotiations, and dispute settlements. Tobacco was considered to be a gift from the supernatural powers to human, although leaves, roots, grasses, diverse barks and herbs as well were used. The smoke produced by the pipage helped carry prayers to their destination.

Catlinite

The cherry-red pipe bowl (pictured at top, right) is made of pipestone or catlinite. Its sources in the United states of america are Barron County, Wisconsin, and, more commonly, Pipestone, Minnesota. The stone was so valued that the Dakota Sioux gained control of the Minnesota mine in the 1700s. After, the stone could only be acquired through permission of the Sioux. Catlinite is named afterward George Catlin, i of the most prominent 19th century artists to depict the Plains Indian peoples and their way of life. Catlin visited the pipestone mines in 1836, making notes nearly the quarry site and the native method of pipe structure. The pipe stalk is carved from wood and is wrapped with dyed porcupine quills.

Native American pipe bag

The fringed pipe purse (lesser, right) was used for storing and transporting the piping. It is made of leather and heavily beaded. The design includes stylized clouds (in the form of triangles) and rectangles (the symbol for a bag). Based on the technique and the symbols, it is probable the bag was made by a Sioux (a.thousand.a. Lakota) artist. Too suggesting a Sioux origin is the proper name of a famous Lakota leader, Chief Red Cloud, written on the bag. It is unclear whether he always owned the handbag or pipe.

Both items were donated to the Kansas Historical Society by Frank "Main" Haucke, who grew upward near the Kansa or Kaw reservation at Council Grove. The Kansa bestowed on Haucke an Indian name and gifts in 1925 for his help in preserving their culture and erecting a monument to the Kansa peoples on the Kaw reservation. Haucke also helped collect Native American materials for the Kaw Mission which opened as a museum in 1951. The pipe and purse were a gift to Haucke from J.Thousand. Braecklein, a Kansas Urban center architect and fellow antiquities collector.

Although their origins are somewhat obscure, the pipe and purse are good examples of Plains Indian pipe construction and beading styles.

Entry: Plains Indian Piping and Pipe Handbag

Writer: Kansas Historical Society

Writer information: The Kansas Historical Lodge is a state bureau charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state'south history.

Date Created: December 2000

Date Modified: December 2014

The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.