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The origin of this word is French, from chalumeau, originally referring to the reeds that were used to make pipes, and later coming to mean “pipe stem.”

Most people are familiar with the concept of the so-called Peace Pipe, the ceremonial pipe that’s passed around the circle of tribal members in a sun-wise direction, the tobacco shared and smoked as a symbol of concord, or to seal a treaty or pact. Although the ceremonies involving the smoking of a pipe extend far beyond this particular use, the pipe itself is known as the calumet. The pipe used by the Native Americans in Canada was first seen by the French settlers from Normandy, and that’s the name they gave it. “Calumet” now refers, in general, to the highly decorated ceremonial Native American smoking pipe.

A specific type of mineral—called pipestone, pipeclay, or alternatively catlinite after the great painter and explorer George Catlin—is commonly used to make the bowl of the calumet. The catlinite is easy to work, since it has a claylike texture and friability. The importance of this pipe clay is evidenced by the fact that the quarries where the stone is found—in particular the great pipestone quarries in Minnesota—have generally been accepted as neutral territory by warring tribes. Stone from this quarry has been mined and used by the Native peoples to make pipes and other artifacts for at least 3,000 years.

The Lakota people believed that the pipe and its smoke formed a bridge between the world of man and the world of spirit, and therefore another very important aspect of the pipe is the material that’s smoked in it. The smoking mix varies from region to region and from tribe to tribe, but in all cases the smoke created by these sacred herbs was believed to carry the prayers, thoughts, and good wishes of the smoker up to the heavens. Often, various herbs were blended together; this is traditionally called kinnikinnick, meaning “mixture.”

The pipes themselves are ornamented in accord with their sacred status, decorated with beading, fur, hair, quills, feathers, and carvings.

The pipe has been described as a “portable altar,” and using the object is carried out with a great deal of ceremony and respect.