Calumet << KAL yuh meht >> , sometimes called the “peace pipe,” was a ceremonial tobacco pipe that some Native American groups of North America smoked as a sign of peace and friendship. They passed it from one person to another. Among the Native Americans of the Great Lakes, Mississippi Valley, and Great Plains, this pipe often had a carved stone bowl. Catlinite (pipestone), a soft red stone, was highly prized among Native American groups for making calumets. The pipes had a long wood or reed stem elaborately decorated with feathers. Early French explorers gave the name calumet to the pipe and to the dance held in its honor. The name came from their word for the reed that formed the pipe’s stem. Most pipes were not ceremonial objects. Native Americans of many tribes smoked tobacco solely for pleasure in a variety of pipes. Other pipes were used only in religious ceremonies.
