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Primary sourceArtifactc. 1880

Sitting Bull's Ceremonial Pipe

c. 1880

A long wooden ceremonial pipe that belonged to Sitting Bull, now held at the Historical Museum of Bern.

This ceremonial pipe belonged to Sitting Bull and points to his role as a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man.

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A long wooden pipe photographed against a dark gray background. It has a reddish-brown bowl and stem at the left end, a light tan wooden shaft with a small brass or metal band, and a signature-like inscription near the right end.
Ceremonial pipe belonging to Sitting Bull, c. 1880. Historical Museum of Bern.

About this source

What it is

This is a tobacco pipe and tube that belonged to Sitting Bull, dated to around 1880. It is a long wooden pipe with a reddish-brown bowl and stem, a light tan shaft with a metal band, and an inscription near one end. It is now held by the Historical Museum of Bern.

Why it matters

As a holy man and medicine man among the Hunkpapa Lakota, Sitting Bull held an important spiritual role in his community. A ceremonial pipe like this one points to that role, since pipes held deep religious and ceremonial meaning in Lakota life.

Look closer

  • What can the materials and decoration of the pipe tell you about how it was made and valued?
  • Why might a museum in Switzerland end up holding an object that belonged to Sitting Bull?
  • What questions would you want answered about how this pipe came to leave Lakota hands?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sitting Bull (Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake) on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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