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Calumet Stem and Pipe Bowl

Upper Missouri region

Not on view

This calumet, or round-stemmed ceremonial pipe, is adorned with bald-eagle feathers, porcupine quillwork, and the scalp feathers of a male Mallard duck. For Plains peoples, the sharing of a pipe was the most important ritual for creating relationships with others outside the tribe. The act of smoking together connected participants to higher powers and affirmed alliances; it was often accompanied by a ceremony called the Calumet Dance. A pipe itself was commonly presented as a diplomatic gift.

Calumet Stem and Pipe Bowl, Wood, eagle and downy feathers, mallard duck scalp, horsehair, unidentified hair, winter weasel fur (?), porcupine quills, sinew, bast fiber cord, native-tanned leather, silk ribbon, pigment, catlinite (red pipestone), Upper Missouri region

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Calumet Stem and Pipe Bowl, Wood, eagle and downy feathers, mallard duck scalp, horsehair, unidentified hair, winter weasel fur (?), porcupine quills, sinew, bast fiber cord, native-tanned leather, silk ribbon, pigment, catlinite (red pipestone), Upper Missouri region
Calumet Stem and Pipe Bowl, Wood, eagle and downy feathers, mallard duck scalp, horsehair, unidentified hair, winter weasel fur (?), porcupine quills, sinew, bast fiber cord, native-tanned leather, silk ribbon, pigment, catlinite (red pipestone), Upper Missouri region

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