Made by red catlinite pipestone. Lead inlay.

Made by carving the catlinite into its' finished shape, engraving the final design into the stone, pouring molten lead into the grooves and wrapping the pipebowl in rawhide.

The flange contains three sun or star-shaped serrated circles. There is a ring of serrated lines at the centre of the artifact.The shank of the pipe depicts wavy and straight lines that end in a spurred point. On each side of the fire-blackened bowl are two symmetrical lead rings ending in a diamond shape with spurs. To the front and back of the firebowl is an hourglass shaped groove ending with a spurred point. There are four notches around the top of the firebowl. Two rings encircle the tip of the firebowl.

Alan Corbiere provides a contemporary Anishinaabe interpretation: The depictions on the pipe seem to have been highly religious in nature. The symmetrical patterns on the calumet shows a balanced worldview. There are four points carved on the top of the pipe bowl because of the significance of the number four to the Ojibwa, as being synonymous with the four cardinal directions. There is a main spirit responsible for governing each direction. Displaying this orientation of direction and place on the pipe is meant to remind the smoker that they are grounded. This pipe would have certainly been affixed to a pipe stem, although this is not included in the CMC collection. By joining the pipe to the pipe stem and pointing the stem in each of the four directions, the smoker would petition each of the spirits. The smoker then would then point the pipe stem to themselves, inviting each spirit to have a smoke with them. Furthermore, The two hourglass figures seemingly represent thunderbird bodies; these are located on either side of the pipe bowl. The corresponding symbol on the shank of the pipe could very well have been reminiscent of an underwater being in the shape of a serpentine figure, which lived under the water and under the earth. The two images on the either side of the pipe bowl may have been suggestive of a snake’s tongue. Ruth Phillips added to this description when she mentioned that the spurred points on the diamond figure might refer not to a snake’s tongue, but to a horned serpent. The two rings around the lip of the bowl possibly depict a straight line descending through the rings from each being. Alan Corbiere interpreted these lines as the supernatural beings traversing through their realm into the human realm during the act of smoking. These contemporary beliefs based on community outreach may not have been, however, identical to the views of the ancestors who created this pipe.

Probably used for spiritual purposes because of the costly catlinite and lead inlay as well as the highly ornamented carvings on the pipe itself. The pipe may very well have reflected a dream experienced by the Ojibwa artist, and consequently, may have assisted the dreamer in retaining the power of their vision experience.

Lead inlay on the pipe suggests that this pipe is a post-contact artifact. The pipe resides at the Canadian Museum of Civilization,is formerly of the Speyer collection, and previously taken from the Methodist Missionary Society, which only began operating in the Great lakes region in 1823.

Presently part of the Canadian Museum of Civilization's ethnographic collection for the Eastern Woodlands, formerly of the Speyer Collection, previously of the collection of the Methodist Missionary Society.

‘Bo’Jou Neejee!’Ottawa: National Museum of Man, 1976.

Indianer Nordamerikas. Offenbach: Deutsches Ledermuseum, 1976.

Ted J. Brasser, ‘Bo’Jou Neejee!’ Profiles of Canadian Indian Art (Ottawa: National
Museum of Man, 1976).

Indianer Nordamerikas (Offenbach: Deutsches Ledermuseum, 1976).

Ted J. Brasser, ‘Bo’Jou Neejee!’ Profiles of Canadian Indian Art (Ottawa: National
Museum of Man, 1976).

Indianer Nordamerikas (Offenbach: Deutsches Ledermuseum, 1976).

III-G-840, Catalogue Card, Canadian Museum of Civilization.

This record was created during a first year MA Art History course with Ruth Phillips: ARTH 5210F: Indigenous Arts of the Great Lakes Region: Historical Contexts and Cultural Translations, Carleton University, Fall 2012.

Record based on final paper in Ruth Phillips Fall 2012 course at carleton University. ARTH 5210F: Indigenous Arts of the Great Lakes Region: Historical Contexts and Cultural Translations.

Final Paper is titled:
Seguin, Alisha. "A Struggle for Souls: how a pipe from the Speyer Collection provides a window into the tumultuous religious landscape of the 19th Century Great Lakes and Woodlands Region." Unpublished Term Paper. Carleton University, Fall 2012.