The bowl of this buffalo pipe is carved from a single piece of black stone, and the wooden pipe stem is decorated with porcupine quills. The pipe reflects the continued importance of the buffalo in Cheyenne life.

Much like a modern-day department store, the buffalo provided many products for the Cheyenne people. The body yielded meat, pemmican, and tallow.

The skins were used to make robes, clothing, bedding, tipi covers, shields, rawhide ropes, and bags for storage and travel.

Buffalo populations have dropped dramatically, and the animals are no longer a major food source for the Cheyenne people. But the buffalo is still important to the Cheyenne, and the animal's skull is used in modern ceremonies.

"The buffalo—long the staff of life for the Cheyenne—was gone."
––Howling Wolf, Cheyenne prisoner of war 1875–1878, Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida