An Ethnohistoric Study of the Smoking Complex in Eastern North America

Abstract

This paper examines the various uses of pipes and the materials smoked in them in aboriginal eastern North America. Particular attention is paid to intertribal treaties, trade, and adoption and use of pipe rituals as a vehicle for these processes. Several regional variations and patterns are present within eastern North America, and the character of these variations is outlined. Various issues surrounding the calumet and the Calumet Dance are reexamined, and several new interpretations are suggested.