The sacred prayer pipe is said to have come long ago from a mysterious woman who appeared to two young men on the prairie. She was dressed in white and carrying a bundle in her arms. As they approached her, one of the men was immediately struck dead due to impure desires, while the other, who urged respect, was told to announce to the tribe that she would appear again. The people prepared for her to come with prayer and by performing good deeds. When the woman came again, she opened the bundle to reveal a stone pipe with a wooden stem and taught the people to pray with it. She told them to live good lives, use the pipe in prayer, and good things would come to them. As she walked away, she turned into a white buffalo and has since been know as the "White Buffalo Woman."
The sacred pipe plays a key role in Lakota spiritual and cultural life. The pipe on display has not been blessed and has been separated from its stem, according to instructions for its use in public.
