LIFTING SMOKE FROM INDIAN PIPE LORE

To many people, the American Indian ceremonial pipe may seem like little more than a Hollywood prop, the “peace pipe” that allowed the red man to make friends with paleface in dozens of movie Westerns.

But, in fact, they were sacred instruments of Indian life--the communal tool by which tribes celebrated marriages, friendships, hunting bounties, war victories and, yes, treaties with the white man.

“Indians smoked from them in religious ceremonies as well as in more mundane settings,” said Paul Apodaca, curator of an exhibit of American Indian pipes at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana through Sept. 20. “They were used methodically, as an introduction to a ceremony . . . something like the prayer given by a minister at a public meeting.”

The Bowers exhibit, Apodaca said, features pipes from the late 1800s, most of which were used by the Dakota and Lakota tribes of America’s north central plains and Canada’s south central plains. They were made from clay, stones, bone and other natural materials that were thought to have spiritual significance.

Besides the half-truths popularized by Hollywood, another misconception is that marijuana and other mood-altering drugs were smoked in the pipes. Actually, simple tobacco was the weed of choice, Apodaca said. “Kids come to the show and ask if they went for ‘pot.’ They seem pretty disappointed when I tell them the reality.”

Another myth is that only one pipe was passed around during a ceremony. In fact, most tribe members would bring their own pipes and puff more or less in unison, Apodaca said. “I’m sure they’d share if someone showed up without his own, but that’s strictly Hollywood when you think of them handing it around a circle.”