In Native American traditions, Smoking of a pipe was considered sacred and special. There were various rules that needed to be followed to assure the good spirits would offer abundance to the village. The pipe was pointed towards the earth and the sky and in the four directions, north, east, south and west. Prayers were voiced. The smoking started with the owner of the lodge and then passed around in the circle from the right to honor the sun. They would smoke tobacco with dried sumac leaves or red willow bark . Sometimes combining it with bison grease or dried bison chip to help the lighting process.
The rules were as follows: Never smoke when a woman is in attendance. No loud noises and no one is to exit or enter the lodge even standing or moving about is prohibited while smoking the pipe. It is unlucky to touch the stem of the pipe, must be held straight up when passing around the circle. It is
considered Bad Luck to scatter ashes.
