Use of Tobacco by the North American Indians and the use of the Catlinite Pipes
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Kevin Godbee - Oct 1, 2009
- 1 min read
On Saturday, May 2 at The 2009 Chicagoland Int’l Pipe & Tobacciana Show, John N. Low gave a 1-hour presentation entitled, "The Weird, Unusual, Imaginative and Curious Pipes". John N. Low is the Executive Director of the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston, IL
The Program for Mr. Low’s talk read as follows; "Mr. Low’s talk will focus on the use of tobacco by North American Indians and the use of Catlinite pipes. As a part of his presentation he will have with him items from the collections of the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian. Pipestone is a special red stone which has been quarried in what is now called Pipestone, Minnesota, for thousands of years. The Pipestone quarries are considered sacred ground by many American Indian people. All tribes could come here in peace and quarry this buttery soft red sacred stone. Today American Indian people still come to quarry the stone to make pipes and other articles. Objects and pipes made from the red pipestone (also known as Catlinite) have been eagerly collected ever since the white man first knew about the stone. Pipes and artifacts are found all over the United States, among the ruins of ancient Indian campsites and villages, tending to prove the Indians assertion that the quarry was a common gathering place for all the tribes, or at least, that all Indians knew the veneration attached to the stone. The name for the stone comes from the artist George Catlin who was an early visitor to the quarries in 1835."
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We would like to thank the Chicago Pipe Collector’s Club for the exclusive rights of publishing their videos from the show.
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. 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Garret: I’ve been carving since 2021, and I’m guessing your next question is probably how’d you get started carving? James: Yes. Garret: In 2021 I took a break from my full time job – that included machining and assembly work and I thought maybe it was time I made something that I would like and I started looking at youtube and Instagram and putting together my shop. I did struggle on the stems to start and there was a lot of failure at the beginning. James: How many pipes have you made so far? Garret: I number my pipes, so I just finished up 186. James: What is your favorite shape you’ve been making? Garret: I really dig Canadians and pipes with longer shanks and lovat Canadian blends. I like to play with different shapes of stems on the longer shanked pipes. The billiard would be my go-to shape but I want to learn more techniques on freehanded shapes. I like to put brass and copper adornments on my pipes with my machining background it helps. 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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 631. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with pipe maker Dan Keller from Good Made Better. Dan is from South Dakota. Growing up working in the family hardware store where he was always finding solutions to fixing things, he ended up always wanting to make things. He now makes elegant handmade pens, pen holders, portable desks, blotters, blotting paper, book carry cases, and of course artisan pipes. At the top of the show we are continuing the virtual tour of Brian’s pipes with his “f#@k you pipes”.
Very interesting. Natives smoked pipes for 10,000 years without anti-smoking nazis. They could have used a little pancake makeup on the heads though..
Just fantastic…thank you for a wonderful presentation.
Joe N.
I’ve returned to this video time and again over the past year or so and I’ve discovered something new each and every time. Excellent documentation of the practices and beliefs of Native American pipe users.
what a great video, it’s always a treat to find out about these curiosities of pipe smoking