Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

PLATFORM STONE PIPE

Date Range From

1900

Date Range To

1920

Materials

STONE, WOOD

No. Pieces

2

Height

7.0

Length

50.2

Diameter

1.6

Description

CROSS INCISED ON ALL 3 FACES OF PIPE PLATFORM. WILLOW STEM, BLACK PIPE STONE. CONSERVATION REPORT ON FILE.

Subjects

CEREMONIAL ARTIFACT

PERSONAL GEAR

INDIGENOUS

Historical Association

ETHNOGRAPHIC

History

NORTHERN PLAINS CULTURE. BLACKFOOT ORIGIN. *UPDATE* IN 2015 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON ASKED TWO FORMER MEMBERS OF THE LETHBRIDGE JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, PHIL EDMUNDSON AND PAUL RUSZNAK, ABOUT THE FIRST NATIONS ARTIFACTS THAT THE GROUP DONATED TO THE GALT MUSEUM IN 1964, 1969, AND 1973. NEITHER RECALLED HOW THE JAYCEES CAME INTO OWNERSHIP OF THE ARTIFACTS, AS THEIR ACQUISITION PREDATED BOTH EDMUNDSON AND RUSZNAK’S MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHAMBER. RESEARCH CONDUCTED INTO LETHBRIDGE’S GURNEY MUSEUM FOUND A CONNECTION BETWEEN ITS PROPRIETOR, WALTER GURNEY, AND THE JAYCEES, WHO ACCORDING TO AN ARTICLE FROM THE APRIL 16, 1946 ISSUE OF THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD ADVOCATED ON GURNEY’S BEHALF FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO BE MADE TO THE FORMER BOARD OF TRADE BUILDING WHERE THE MUSEUM WAS HOUSED. AN ARTICLE FROM THE JULY 13, 1948 ISSUE OF THE HERALD DESCRIBES SOME OF THE FIRST NATIONS ARTIFACTS ON DISPLAY IN THE MUSEUM: “TOMAHAWKS, ARROW HEADS, PEACE PIPES, BEAD AND LEATHER WORK, CLOTHING AND WOODCRAFT”. UPON THE CLOSURE OF THE MUSEUM AND SALE OF GURNEY’S COLLECTION TO BELMORE SCHULTZ OF THE ALTAMONT MUSEUM IN COUTTS, MENTION WAS MADE IN A HERALD ARTICLE FROM MAY 16, 1961 OF “HISTORICAL INDIAN RELICS THAT BELONG TO THE JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAVE BEEN RETAINED IN THE CITY AND WILL BE AVAILABLE WHEN PROPER DISPLAY FACILITIES ARE AVAILABLE”. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE ARTIFACTS WERE TRANSFERRED TO THE JAYCEES BY GURNEY DURING THE DISSOLUTION OF HIS MUSEUM, BUT NO FURTHER CONFIRMATION WAS FOUND. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE GURNEY MUSEUM AND ITS COLLECTION, SEE RECORD P19890044001.

UPDATE 16 AUGUST 2017: ON 25 JULY 2017, MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT FOUND EVIDENCE TO CONNECT THE INDIGENOUS COLLECTION DONATED BY THE LETHBRIDGE JAYCEES (AKA. JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE) WITH FORMER LETHBRIDGE RESIDENTS THE LATE FRED BOTSFORD AND HIS LATE DAUGHTER DOROTHY CLARK. NOTES MADE BY AIMEE ON THE DISCOVERY AS WELL AS RELEVANT CLIPPINGS FROM THE LETHBRIDGE HERALD CAN BE FOUND ATTACHED TO THE PERMANENT FILE OF P19641140000. 22 OCTOBER 2021 UPDATE: THE LABEL TEXT QUOTED BELOW WAS DEVELOPED WITH KAINAI ELDERS FOR A SUB-THEME WITHIN THE EXHIBIT ‘MADE IN’, TITLED ‘NIITSITAPISSKSAHKOYI’ AND INSTALLED WITHIN THE GALT IN 2021. ELDERS WHO PROVIDED MUSEUM CURATOR AIMEE BENOIT WITH DIRECTION ON SUBTHEME’S CONTENT INCLUDED: AAGOHH GISS STSISTIIGIIAAKII (MANY OFFERINGS WOMAN, GRETA MANY BEARS), GUUYII STAA BAAMUUGHKAA (WALKING ON TOP, RAYMOND MANY BEARS), NIINAA PIIKSII (CHIEF BIRD, MIKE BRUISED HEAD), MO’TOKAANII’PO (WALKING WITH A SCALP, HARRISON RED CROW) AND MIINIIPOKA (SACRED BERRY CHILD, PETER WEASEL MOCCASIN). THE GALT APPRECIATED THE GENEROSITY OF THE ELDERS WHO SHARED THEIR KNOWLEDGE FOR THIS EXHIBIT PROJECT. “AAHKOINNIMAAN (PIPE BOWL AND STEM): THIS STONE HERE, YOU GET IT DOWN IN THE COULEES… YOU COULD TAKE YOUR KNIFE AND CARVE IT. YOU CAN PROBABLY GET IT ALL THE WAY FROM ST. MARY DAM, ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE COULEES. YOU CAN GET THIS ANYWHERE ALONG HERE, BUT YOU HAVE TO DIG FOR IT. PEOPLE HAD TO DO A LOT OF EXPERIMENTING BEFORE THEY GOT THE CORRECT STONE THAT WORKED THE WAY IT WAS SUPPOSED TO WORK, FOR CEREMONIES OR FOR PERSONAL USE.’ – MIINIIPOKA ‘I MAKE THESE BOWLS AND PIPES. THERE’S HIDDEN CRACKS WITHIN THE STONE ITSELF. WHEN YOU CHIP AWAY AT IT, ONCE IT STOPS YOU TAKE THAT PIECE AND START SHAPING IT INTO THE BOWL. IT DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE STYLE WHAT THEY WOULD SHAPE THE STONE INTO; BUT A LOT OF THE BLACK STONE WAS SHAPED INTO OUR IDENTITY OF WHO WE ARE AS WELL AS THE LAND. THE SURROUNDING TRIBES THROUGHOUT THE CONTINENT, THEY WOULD SEE THE KIND OF DESIGN AND THE STONE ITSELF AND THEY WOULD AUTOMATICALLY KNOW THIS STONE IS FROM APAITSITAPI—THE WEASEL TRIBE, OR THE KAINAI.’ – GUUYII STAA BAAMUUGHKAA ‘THEY WOULD HAVE USED BUCK BRUSH TO BLACKEN IT. YOU SET IT ON FIRE, AND THE HEAVY SMOKE STICKS TO THE STONE. AND THEN YOU OIL IT WITH NATURAL OIL, TO GET IT NICE AND SHINY.’ – MO’TOKAANII’PO ‘THE STEM IS MADE FROM WOLF WILLOW. IT’S KIND OF A SILVER PLANT WITH SILVERY-LOOKING BERRIES, AND WHEN YOU OPEN THEM IT’S VERY POWDERY INSIDE. FOR SOME WOOD TO MAKE PIPES, THEY WOULD TRAVEL TO THE CROW TERRITORY TO OBTAIN THIS VERY SPECIFIC GRAIN—KAAPOKSI (ASH).’ – MO’TOKAANII’PO”

Catalogue Number

P19641174000

Acquisition Date

1964-07

Collection

Museum

Less detail