Pass the Pipe

You've probably heard the expression "pass the peace pipe." It might have been when two parties struck a compromise after previously being at an impasse. The phrase comes from early American settlers and soldiers who noticed Indigenous peoples smoking ceremonial pipes during treaty signings. They misunderstood this to mean pipe smoking symbolized peacemaking in Native American culture and hence the word "peace pipe" and phrases like "pass the peace pipe" came about.
 

But, like many conventional American ideas about the history and culture of Indigenous peoples, the term peace pipe is a misnomer, says Gabrielle Drapeau, an interpretive park ranger at Minnesota's Pipestone National Monument and an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe of South Dakota. Tribal enrollment requirements preserve the unique character and traditions of each tribe. The tribes establish membership criteria based on shared customs, traditions, language and tribal blood.
 

Many Native Americans smoke pipes -- and not just in recognition of peace, but in ceremony and prayer as well as a way to connect with God. "So, don't use the term peace pipe," Drapeau says. "It's just pipe."
 

But these were -- and are still -- not just pipes. These artifacts, the tradition of pipe smoking and the ceremonies during which they are smoked hold far more significance for American Indian peoples across North America than the misnomer conveys.
 

A Short History of the Ceremonial Pipe
 

There is no singular word for these ceremonial pipes that spans all Native American cultures. The broad term often given to them is calumet, from the French word chalumet, which means reed or flute. Various tribes have their own unique names in their own languages. For example, the Lakota sacred pipe is called a chanunpa. 

 

Ceremonial pipes have been a part of several Native American cultures for at least 5,000 years and are still used for ceremony and prayer. "I grew up this way. It's the only way I know how to pray," Drapeau says. "To me, it is like a physical representation of your connection to God."
 

The legends of how tribe elders first received pipes differ, too. According to Lakota legend, the first pipe was brought to Earth 19 generations ago by a divine messenger known as White Buffalo Calf Woman (known in the Lakota language as Pte-san Win-yan). The pipe was given to the people who would not forget -- the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota nations. The Buffalo Calf Woman came to the tribes when there was a great famine and instructed them about living in balance with nature. She gifted the people with a sacred bundle containing the White Buffalo Calf Pipe, which still exists to this day and is kept by Chief Arvol Looking Horse of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Other members of the tribes are also pipe carriers: stewards entrusted with the care of particular ceremonial and personal pipes.

The Shaman and the Mystic

There is a great deal of controversy in scholarly circles about the differences between the mystic path and the shamanic path. While there is no precise answer, in this post I will compare the similarities and differences. Both paths place great emphasis on personal experience derived from introspection and self-observation. Though they differ significantly in their approach, practitioners of both traditions seek accord with nature through consciousness-altering techniques. We do not know how old each of them is, but evidence suggests that the shamanic path is older. Shamanism has been around for tens of thousands of years and has played a functional role in human survival and cultural evolution.
 

Shamanism is based on the principle that innate wisdom and guidance can be accessed through the inner senses in ecstatic trance induced by shamanic practices such as repetitive drumming. Ecstatic trance is an academic term referring to those inwardly focused experiences of cosmic oneness, that mystical connection to a living, intelligent universe that exists within each of us. Practitioners enter altered states of consciousness in order to perceive and interact with the inner world of the self. The act of entering an ecstatic trance state is called the soul flight or shamanic journey. A shaman is a practitioner who has developed the mastery of accessing altered states of consciousness to gain wisdom, healing techniques, and other vital information that can benefit the community. The shaman traverses the inner planes in order to mediate between the needs of the spirit world and those of the material world.
 

One major difference between the two is that mystics are often officially aligned with a religion while shamans are not. This does not mean that shamans do not practice a religion because many do. There are in fact Christian shamans, Jewish shamans and Buddhist shamans, but the religions often do not endorse their shamanic practices. In many cases they condemn it so these shamans keep their shamanic practices secret or discreet. However, every religion has a mystic tradition even though it is often an outlier that is a marginally tolerated aspect of the religion.
 

The roots of mysticism can be traced back to shamanic practices from the earliest tribal communities. Unlike shamans, however, mystics are practitioners of doctrinally acceptable forms of religious ecstasy (e.g., prayer, meditation, fasting) aimed at union with the divine. Mystics are dedicated to awakening, self-realization and enlightenment, and they are less concerned with mediating the needs of their communities. On the other hand, a realized master will often intuitively know how to help their community through their connection with nature and the divine. Both shamans and mystics are known for their ability to travel vast distances in an instant, to find lost articles and people, to commune with nature spirits. When shamans develop their powers through long apprenticeships and training, they can do much the same things as their mystic counterparts.
 

Mystics are known for both deep learning of esoteric subjects, and a deep spiritual connection with God (or whatever term you would like to use for a higher power). They are famous for their solitary retreats, their long sojourns in the wilderness fasting, cultivating wisdom, seeking to expand their awareness without any distractions. Mystics are also known for their ability to acquire and nurture ongoing relationships with wild animals in nature, to speak with them and listen to them.
 

Shamans are known for many of these practices as well. Of course, not all shamans are mystics. The reality is that some shamans are just on an ego trip to make money and manipulate others. Some are very powerful and effective but have no ethics or principles at all. Other shamans are great healers and spiritual leaders in their communities, but have no interest in self-realization or enlightenment.    
 

Similarly, not all mystics are shamans. Many mystics regard shamanic practices as just more ego pursuits to be avoided. They are inclined to believe that the physical world is a deceptive illusion. For the mystic, reality is the evolution of consciousness in the alchemy of time. Reality shifts and changes like the flow of the collective unconscious, and is in constant motion creating new patterns of experience. Reality, in its illusion, is the dream from which we all awaken.
 

And yet there is a lot of overlap between master shamans and truly realized mystics. It could well be that the most accomplished shamans can't help but encounter the mystic path somewhere in the timeline of their learning and development? And it could be that some mystics can't help but develop shamanic powers and despite the illusory nature of the physical realm, participate in world activities just to experience it. After all, we are here on the earth to experience, learn and grow.
 

Shamanism and mysticism are ultimately about consciousness, about learning through attunement to nature, which is a reflection of the divine, creative power of the universe. They provide a myriad of responses to the spiritual quest of self-discovery. Both paths emphasize establishing a personal relationship with the powers of creation. By practicing these ways of being, we awaken our soul calling and our connection to nature. They are ways that embed us in the living web of life, yielding greater awareness and perspective. These practices are easily integrated into contemporary life and provide a means of navigating the turbulent times in which we live.

Court Case Threatens Native Sovereignty

A serious threat to Native American tribes across the United states looms large. A decision on the Supreme Court case Brackeen v. Haaland -- a direct assault on the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), and by extension, the very right of tribes to be classified as sovereign nations -- is expected later this year.
 

Enacted in 1978, ICWA was part of the federal government's efforts to rectify the incomprehensible harm it caused to Native families through the forcible removal of Native children from their communities into boarding schools or non-Native foster and adoptive homes. Between 1819 and 1969, hundreds of thousands of children were taken from their families and homes. 

 

ICWA establishes minimum standards for a Native child to be removed from their home and empowers tribes to be more involved in adoption and custody procedures for kids enrolled or eligible to enroll in tribal nations. The law gives tribal courts exclusive jurisdiction over members who live on tribal land, in the hopes of keeping families together, and creates a process whereby they're noticed and involved in cases outside of these boundaries.
 

For years, people and organizations hostile to ICWA have tried to erode the legislation through the court system. Should ICWA fall, it's not only adoption and foster cases that will be gravely impacted; the basic foundations of tribal sovereignty could be unwound. Observers in Indian Country have long believed that attacks on the legislation have broader aims in mind than the wellbeing of children, and many anti-ICWA proponents are also perceived as gunning for access to natural resources, mineral rights and more.
 

Calling into question the authority of Congress to deal with tribal nations as distinct sovereigns would have ​major reverberations throughout the field of Indian law. These attacks on sovereignty can be traced back to the Trail of Tears, the deadly westward displacement of five tribes between 1830 and 1850 initiated by then-President Andrew Jackson. The argument made at the time was that the tribes were being overwhelmed by European settlers, and they would be annihilated if the government didn't take them into custody and move them. ​In truth, those tribes controlled the waterways, and Andrew Jackson said, "​We want it, and we are going to take it."
 

Tribal sovereignty predates the coming of the colonial powers. From 1778 to 1871, the United States federal government signed 370 treaties with tribal nations. Many were used as tools to forcibly remove Indigenous people from their native lands and relocate them to reservations. In exchange for the land they had lived on for generations, tribes were offered many now-broken promises from the government: of peace, the provision of health and education, hunting and fishing rights and protection against enemies.
 

According to the Constitution, treaties can only be enacted between two sovereign nations. That status and the right of tribes to self-govern was affirmed in the 1832 Worcester v. Georgia Supreme Court case. It's also grounded in the Constitution through not one, but two clauses, and was reiterated yet again in the 1990s by a Department of Justice memorandum that tribal nations have the unique status of ​"domestic dependent nations." You can help protect tribal sovereignty by supporting the Native American Rights Fund.