Dig It - 3/9/23
All Right, All Right, Fellow Seeker! Today We Be Smoking!
That's right, we are going to look at pipes. Native Americans sort of invented pipes, with the possible exception of some Middle Eastern or Oriental cultures who may have been smoking Cannabis and Hashish. Anyway, Native American pipes go back at least to the Woodland Period, about 2,500 years ago. This pipe dates to the late 19th century and is probably Lakota from the Standing Rock Reservation. There are quite a large number of these carved animal effigy pipe stems in both museums and private collections. It would appear that these stems were made for sale to non-Lakota peoples, both Native Americans and non-Native Americans. This pipe is somewhat unique in that besides the traditional turtle (symbol of steadfastness), buffalo, and big horn sheep, it has a beaver at the top of the stem. The pipe is 29” long and is a wonderful example for any collection. This pipe has been traditionally blessed.