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People on the plains, who shared an elaborate and rich ritual life based on ritualized spiritual activities including the sweatlodge, the pow-wows and the intensely personal spirit quest, the sundance, often painted their tipis with imagery that told stories about the owner, and also conveyed information about the cultural group’s cosmology. Plains peoples also created elaborately decorated talking sticks, pipes, and also developed sacred medicine bundles. The bundles were intensely personal and even today (perhaps especially today) their value has been rediscovered and museums, such as the Glenbow in Calgary, consult native elders before any display of medicine bundles. Some bundles have been repatriated. People of the plains also covered their clothing with beadwork that was both decorative and symbolic. Images of the sun-dance may be found on the Internet, but it should be remembered that these images were not intended to be shared: the sun-dance was only undertaken after significant spiritual preparation, and it documented personal bravery and spiritual growth.
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