A cross-cultural study of the life history of stone pipes in the plains

Abstract

This study documents the life history of Native American stone pipes in the Plains from the eighteenth century to the early twenty-first century. Source material derives from twenty-first century interviews, ethnographic, and ethnohistoric documents. Interviews with Native American pipestone carvers at Pipestone National Monument in Minnesota were conducted in 2013. Additional documentation is from ethnohistoric and ethnographic observations from Plains Tribes over three centuries. Important issues highlighted in this research include the identity of the carvers, variation in stone used for pipes, variation in the types of carving tools, and the importance of recycling red pipestone.

KEYWORDS:

• Pipestone national monument
• stone pipes
• life history
• ethnohistory
• ethnography

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the two anonymous reviewers, the editor, the Smithsonian Institution Press, the staff at Pipestone National Monument, and TAMIU’s librarians. I would also like to acknowledge Jack Hofman and Mary Adair for all of their professional insight. This study and all research are not possible without the support (and map-making) of Andy Hilburn.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The Blackfoot endonym is Niitsitapi.

2 Ewers (1963, 1986) defines a Modified Micmac pipe differently from West (1934). Ewers (1986:50) applied Modified Micmac to all Micmac-style pipes used by any Tribe other than the Micmac. West (1934:227) defines Modified Micmac as a Micmac pipe with an extended bowl. This paper applies Ewers’ (1986) definition.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Kansas Historical Foundation’s Alfred M. Landon Award; Osage Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists’ Sean S. Thompson Service Award; the University of Kansas ’ Department of Anthropology’s Carlyle S. Smith Memorial Research Award and Carroll D. Clark Awards; and the University of Kansas’ Hall Center for Humanities Summer Graduate Research Fellowship.

Notes on contributors

Alison M. Hadley

Alison M. Hadley is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the Department of Social Sciences, Texas A&M International University. Her research is on the life cycle of ritual stone objects in the Plains and South Texas. She can be reached at the Dept. of Social Sciences, 5201 University Blvd., AIC #337, Laredo, TX 78041-1900. Email: [email protected]