Anonymous Buyer Gives Sacred Pipe Sold For $40K Back To MN Tribe

RED WING, MN — A sacred pipe tied to the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 was auctioned off for $40,000 in Boston Saturday before its new owner returned it to the Minnesota tribe it originally belonged to. The pipe had been held by the same family since the 1880s.

While held as a prisoner, Mdewakanton Dakota Chief White Dog gave the "catlinite" pipe he carved to a soldier as a peace offering.

On Dec. 26, 1862, the U.S. government hung the Sioux chief and 37 other Dakota men in Mankato, Minnesota, an event that remains the largest single execution in American history. That winter, nearly 1600 Dakota women, children and elderly were imprisoned at Pike Island near Fort Snelling in Saint Paul.

The U.S.-Dakota War is viewed as a genocidal effort to forcibly remove the Dakota from Minnesota.

Projected to sell for $15,000 to $20,000, Auction company Skinner Inc. announced Saturday the pipe was sold for $39,975.

The Prairie Island Indian Community in Red Wing, Minnesota wanted the sale stopped, but soon after the auction ended, the Minnesota tribe learned the winning bidder only purchased the sacred pipe so it could be turned to the tribe. The buyer has stayed anonymous.

"We are humbled by and grateful for this honorable act," Prairie Island tribal council president Shelley Buck told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "Pidamayaye [thank you] to the donor for your respect and generosity."

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