Short Stuff: "Peace" Pipes  ## Metadata - Author: [[Stuff You Should Know]] - Full Title: Short Stuff: "Peace" Pipes - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/7b1214e4-93a3-4c43-9888-20424a05ce05 ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **'Peace Pipe' Is A Misleading Label** - The common term "peace pipe" is a misnomer; indigenous peoples call them sacred or ceremonial pipes. - They were used for many occasions beyond treaty signings, so the label oversimplifies their role. Transcript: Chuck And Jerry's here for Dave. So it's The Short Stuff, and we're talking about what you might know as peace pipes. But as it turns out, that's not the right word for it at all. So although we'll probably accidentally call it peace pipes a bunch of times, they're really called sacred or ceremonial pipes. That's right. Josh That whole notion of passing the peace pipe, something that American settlers and soldiers saw. And they thought like, hey, they're smoking that thing during a treaty signing. So that must be a peace pipe. And while it's true that they might have smoked those during treaty signings, it turns out they smoke them a lot. So it's a bit of a misnomer. Chuck Yeah, they come up in all sorts of different parts of Native American culture. Something I thought was really interesting is that I could not find a mention of any North American tribe that doesn't use ceremonial pipes. And so, like, they found old ones from Florida up to the Midwest. I think they found it in the Hopewell culture in Ohio, from the Southwest up to the Pacific Northwest, like all over, they use peace pipes, which tells you like this is a really old tradition And it predates some of the tribes that eventually kind of grew out of other tribes that were older. Josh Yeah, for sure. And again, they just call them pipes. ([Time 0:01:20](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8c85bef1-749e-4ff0-b3cd-36abce99a58c)) - **Pipes Are An Ancient Pan‑Native Tradition** - Ceremonial pipes appear across North America and predate many modern tribes. - Their wide archaeological distribution shows the practice is ancient and culturally widespread. Transcript: Chuck Something I thought was really interesting is that I could not find a mention of any North American tribe that doesn't use ceremonial pipes. And so, like, they found old ones from Florida up to the Midwest. I think they found it in the Hopewell culture in Ohio, from the Southwest up to the Pacific Northwest, like all over, they use peace pipes, which tells you like this is a really old tradition And it predates some of the tribes that eventually kind of grew out of other tribes that were older. Josh Yeah, for sure. And again, they just call them pipes. I think there's a broader term that you can use if you want to get more specific called a calumet. And apparently that's from the French word. Would that be Chalamet, like Timothy? Yeah. All right. And that means reed or flute. And Timothy Chalamet, he's like a little flutey reed himself. Chuck He really is. I wonder if that's a stage name now. Josh Maybe. And, you know, depending on the tribe and the culture, they each have their own name for it, perhaps, in their own language. ([Time 0:02:03](https://share.snipd.com/snip/bcb0cb14-fc7f-4395-bdd1-9f76ded47750)) - **Names And Meanings Vary By Tribe** - The French-derived term calumet refers broadly to these pipes but tribes use their own names. - Pipe use varies by tribe and carries different specific meanings in each culture. Transcript: Josh I think there's a broader term that you can use if you want to get more specific called a calumet. And apparently that's from the French word. Would that be Chalamet, like Timothy? Yeah. All right. And that means reed or flute. And Timothy Chalamet, he's like a little flutey reed himself. Chuck He really is. I wonder if that's a stage name now. Josh Maybe. And, you know, depending on the tribe and the culture, they each have their own name for it, perhaps, in their own language. And generally, they take them out during some kind of ceremony, maybe a prayer, maybe a treaty signing thing, maybe just a party or maybe a monarchy situation. Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. But it is a sort of a physical representation of a connection to God or maybe the smoke flowing out in all directions to nature and connecting in that way. Chuck Yeah, I also saw what it means specifically definitely depends on the tribe. They have different meanings for it, even though it's generally used for some sort of prayer solemn occasion, like you were saying. ([Time 0:02:43](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1911d2a2-8e54-4ece-9099-4d6e5f2ee11c)) - **Smoke Carries Prayers To The Spirit World** - Smoke symbolizes a connection: plants rooted in earth send prayers skyward to spirits. - The substance and symbolism differ, but the smoke commonly links people to the spirit world. Transcript: Chuck One explanation I saw is that the plants that are smoked in there, it's not always tobacco. It's never marijuana, and it can be a combination of a bunch of different plants. Those plants have roots in the earth, but their smoke travels up to the heavens, to the spirit world, and they carry the person's prayer with them. So it's a very, they're very sacred and solemn occasions when they're smoking a ceremonial pipe, even though exactly what they believe about it is, it varies. ([Time 0:03:51](https://share.snipd.com/snip/433c8d34-6027-4b36-a257-afb70289ed71)) - **Lakota Origin Story For The Pipe** - Lakota tradition credits the white buffalo calf woman with gifting the pipe for prayer use. - That origin story keeps the pipe central to ongoing Lakota spiritual life. Transcript: Josh I think the Lakota, you know, the ideas that they were given it by the white buffalo calf woman, and it was used for prayer in their culture generally. And that's why the white buffalo calf is very much a sacred thing to the Lakota still. Chuck Yeah, the Lakota call, there's the chinunpa, which is a cool word to say. Josh Yeah. Chuck And one other thing about any ceremonial pipe is there's like different parts represent different things, but they come in pieces. They're not actually just one single piece, especially with the Dakota and the Lakota, both Sioux. They are meant to stay apart. And when they're put together, that indicates a ceremony or a prayer session is beginning. ([Time 0:04:25](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d3906c9b-241a-4552-8cd8-672cad8d2387)) - **Pipes Are Meant To Be Kept Apart Until Use** - Many ceremonial pipes are stored disassembled; assembly signals the start of a ritual. - Museums are advised to display pipes separated to respect their ceremonial meaning. Transcript: Chuck And one other thing about any ceremonial pipe is there's like different parts represent different things, but they come in pieces. They're not actually just one single piece, especially with the Dakota and the Lakota, both Sioux. They are meant to stay apart. And when they're put together, that indicates a ceremony or a prayer session is beginning. You don't keep, like if you're storing it or say if you're a museum who gets your hands on one of these and you're displaying it, you do not show them put together. They're just kind of like exploded on display, separated the different parts. ([Time 0:04:48](https://share.snipd.com/snip/dd900b7a-3573-47ea-841b-555722ed0fe4)) - **Red Pipestone Is Sacred And Regulated** - Red pipestone (catlinite) from Pipestone National Monument is widely revered and sought. - Access is restricted: permits only for enrolled Native Americans and hand tools are required to extract it. Transcript: Chuck So one of the other things that a lot of ceremonial pipes have in common in North America is that they are made from a specific kind of rock. And there's different variations on this kind of rock, but they're all generally called pipe stone. Josh Yeah. You know, we talked about the pieces. There's that wooden stem and then you've got your bowl. It's like an L-shaped bowl or a T-shaped bowl. And that is that pipestone. There are different colors of pipestone, so they're often very pretty pipes and pretty bowls. But there's one apparently that's a little more revered, and that's the red pipestone from Pipestone National Monument, which is southwest Minnesota. And apparently that particular pipestone is considered sacred by a lot of indigenous tribes. Chuck Yeah, like they'll come from all over North America to get the red pipestone. It's a kind of catlinite, which is a stone made from clay. And it's actually fairly easy to work with. But to get to it at Pipestone National Monument, number one, you have to get a permit. Number two, you can't get a permit unless you're enrolled in a North American tribe. And then number three, it's going to take you a while to get there because the red pipestone at that park only exists underneath a thick quartz layer. And you're only allowed to use hand tools like pickaxes, chisels, sledgehammers to get to it. ([Time 0:08:06](https://share.snipd.com/snip/1e967539-34a8-4c81-a0cf-dc1ec6fcd4aa)) - **Materials And Decoration Vary Widely** - Pipes can be made from various materials: pipestone, limestone, bone, pottery, or shale. - Stems are often decorative wood, and ornamentation like feathers and beadwork reflects cultural variation. Transcript: Josh It's not always that pipestone. Sometimes it's limestone. Sometimes it's bone or pottery or shale. But that pipestone is what you're really after. The stems are generally wood, maybe alder or ash. And they're usually decorative, not always, because like we said, there are all different kinds of pipes, some for different ceremonies, some just personal pipes. A lot of times they'll have feathers and beadwork. Some are just plain though. And like you mentioned, they smoke a variety of things, not always tobacco. Sometimes it's dried bark of maybe a red oyster dogwood. Maybe it's a ground shrub if you're out on the prairie. And like you mentioned, it's never marijuana. That is just some dumb joke made by white people at some point, probably in a cartoon strip or something. Chuck So that, yeah, an R. Crumb strip? Josh Yeah, maybe. Chuck Fritz the cat? So that ground shrub from the prairie you mentioned is called canick-anick, and it's spelled like it sounds. It's also called bearberry, but actually both of them are really fun to say as well. That's a sacred plant. And then the tobacco that they'll smoke is also considered sacred, but it's not that standard Virginia tobacco strain. It's an older indigenous strain to the United States that's much more potent, just stronger tobacco. So I'm sure in a pinch you could use the Virginia kind, but there's apparently a preferred kind that's not that. Josh A.K the good stuff. Chuck Yeah, exactly. So I also said that you're not supposed to keep the pipe stored put together. ([Time 0:10:17](https://share.snipd.com/snip/14a17df7-fa7b-463b-8ea7-9ba3a2520ab1)) - **Sacred Plant Blends, Not Commercial Tobacco** - Plants smoked include canick-anick (bearberry) and indigenous tobacco strains, both considered sacred. - These mixtures differ from commercial Virginia tobacco and are culturally preferred. Transcript: Chuck It's also called bearberry, but actually both of them are really fun to say as well. That's a sacred plant. And then the tobacco that they'll smoke is also considered sacred, but it's not that standard Virginia tobacco strain. It's an older indigenous strain to the United States that's much more potent, just stronger tobacco. So I'm sure in a pinch you could use the Virginia kind, but there's apparently a preferred kind that's not that. ([Time 0:11:17](https://share.snipd.com/snip/c7552d06-46ac-4b45-8fce-b90768ee57a1)) - **Pipe Assembly Seals Peace Agreements** - For treaty-making, a medicine man and chiefs each bring pieces; the medicine man assembles the pipe. - Assembling the pipe during peace talks symbolically reconnects the parties. Transcript: Chuck But in some Native American cultures, they were used to basically seal a peace treaty between warring nations. And there was a process for doing this. And there would be a medicine man involved. And then you would bring together the chiefs of the two warring tribes. And the cool thing about it is the medicine man and each of the warring chiefs brings a piece of the pipe. The medicine man puts it together. And then it's kind of like, all right, we're all connected again. ([Time 0:12:13](https://share.snipd.com/snip/2643e3fa-52e7-4740-9781-2a24cd450676)) - **Ceremonial Use Continues In The Present** - Contemporary tribal members emphasize these practices are living, not historical relics. - Gabriel Drapeau and others stress that ceremonial pipe use continues today. Transcript: Josh They interviewed, I think, a woman from the Lakota, maybe. And she's like, you know, this stuff is not past tense. Like, we still have our culture and we still do these things. Chuck Yeah, her name is Gabriel Drapeau. And she's with the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Josh OK, well, she just makes a point like this stuff is not in the past tense. Like we still, I think a lot of people look at it that way as like, oh, they used to smoke these ceremonial pipes. And she's like, no, we still do this. ([Time 0:12:53](https://share.snipd.com/snip/977dba95-e6fe-4c52-93a1-cbea0b6303dd))