Tobacco bag
Southern Cheyenne, Native American
Not on view
A prominent man carried sacred tobacco in this embellished bag on formal occasions. For Plains peoples, the smoking of tobacco served as a form of prayer, and the pipe had mythical origins. The banded designs in the central panels likely refer to war honors; for the Cheyenne, this pattern also had spiritual connotations. By the 1860s, tobacco bags had become a standard element of men’s regalia, especially among Central Plains tribes.
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