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• Cheyenne artist
• 1890
• Leather, beads, corn husk, and feathers
• Native Arts acquisition fund, 1946.67

Bags like this one were used to store pipes for Indigenous peoples living on the Plains, like the Cheyenne, Lakȟóta, and Arapaho. In Western films, these pipes are called “peace-pipes,” but this term is inaccurate. These pipes were used not only to seal treaties, but also in many different kinds of ceremonies. When a pipe is not in use, the pipe bowl is removed from its stem and stored in a bag like this, along with tobacco and a tamper (a tool for compressing tobacco). The tobacco mentioned is not what we think of today, but rather a combination of different plants, roots and bark. The upper portion of the fringe hanging from the bottom of this bag is wrapped with corn husk or other plant fibers. This example shows the Cheyenne custom. Other Indigenous nations like the Lakȟóta and Arapaho preferred to use animal feathers to wrap their fringes.