Summary: | The Hopewell were a cultural group of hunter-gatherer-horticulturalists that lived during the Middle Woodland Period, between 1 and 400 CE. The Hopewell culture is famous for their mound sites as well as their effigy pipes. Hopewell effigy pipes played an important role in Hopewell ritual and spirituality. Today, these pipes are displayed in museum contexts and prized by collectors. Yet, to many contemporary First Nations, the act of collecting these pipes is concerning. This paper examines some of the contemporary issues surrounding the col- lecting of these pipes and discusses my own experience trying to create a pipe to better understand its materiality. This conference paper was adapted from a final project for MSL 2360: Museums and Indigenous Communities.
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