Grandmother's Musings: About the Pipe Carriers' Dance

I received my vision for the Pipe Carriers' Dance sometime in the late 1990s. The entire ceremony didn't come to me all at once, but rather the vision evolved over a period of time. However, my initial vision came as I was smoking my Sacred Pipe. I saw an image that appeared to be a medicine wheel as viewed from above. There were white stones about the size of cantaloupes in a big circle, and smaller white stones that ran from the outer edge to the center and cut the circle into 28 different segments or divisions. In the center, there was a ring of white stones surrounding a central pole. I was told that this was an image of a Pipe Carriers' Dance. Ideally, people would be dancing in each of those 28 segments and would move from the edge of the circle to the center. I was told the dance would be conducted with Pipe Carriers holding their Sacred Pipes and Supporters who didn't carry a pipe but benefited from its healing capabilities.

A bit later I was given more direction on how the dance should be conducted. It would have 4 rounds.

• In the first round, Pipe Carriers and their Pipes (stem out) would dance from the outside of the circle inward to the pole, touching it with their Pipes. Their Supporters would be behind them. When the group got to the center, they would dance backwards to the outside of the circle, only to move forward toward the center again. This symbolizes the Pipe leading the People.

• In the second round, the Pipe Carriers would turn around, putting their backs to the pole while the supporters would move back to the edge of the circle. Then the two groups would dance toward each other, with the supporters holding out their hands as though to receive the Pipe and the Pipe Carriers holding their Pipes in both hands as though offering the Pipes to the people. The two groups would dance toward each other and then backwards to their starting points and forward toward each other again. Each time Pipe Carriers reached the pole, they would turn and touch it with their Pipes. This illustrates the Pipe welcoming the People.

• For the third round, the groups would reverse, with the Supporters in front and the Pipe Carriers and their Pipes (stem out again) behind them dancing from the edge of the circle to the center and back and forth again. As before, each time Pipe Carriers reached the pole, they would touch it with their Pipes. This shows the Pipe supporting and carrying the People.

• During the fourth round, all dancers could move in any direction they wished, dancing straight, sideways, and even weaving between one segment of the circle and another. In this round, everyone would touch the pole / center when they got close. This encourages free will of the people and reminds us that we all must go back to the center to receive our strength, guidance, and blessings.

In my next post, I'll tell you more about how how we start and finish the dance.

For those who are unable to attend this year's dance in Michigan but would like to join us energetically, I invite you to dance with us from wherever you are on Saturday evening (local time) on September 21, 2024. It would gladden my heart to have more people joining in that day or dancing on their own at other times of the year. Just think how wonderful it would be if more people were dancing to honor the Sacred Pipe in many different places on Beloved Earth Mother.

Learn more about this year's Pipe Carriers' Dance in Michigan HERE.

Register to attend the dance HERE.