Chanupa (čhaŋnúŋpa, sometimes Chanunpa), is the Sioux name for the sacred, ceremonial pipe and the ceremony in which it is used. The pipe ceremony is one of the Seven Sacred Rites of the sioux people. Tradition has it that White Buffalo Calf Woman brought the chanupa to the people, as one of the Seven Sacred Rites, to serve as a sacred bridge between this world and Wakan Tanka, the creator (Great Mystery).

The chanupa is one means of conveying prayers to the Creator and the other sacred beings. The various parts of the pipe have symbolic meanings, and much of this symbolism is not readily shared. While sacred pipes of various designs are used in ceremonies by a number of different Indigenous peoples of the Americas, chanunpa is specifically the name for our type of ceremonial pipe and ceremony. Other nations have their own names for their pipes and ceremonies, in their particular Indigenous languages.

One could quite rightly say sacred pipe ceremonies of the Sioux are often meant to provide spiritual grounding and power for the people as they navigate their identity in the modern world. The very act of smoking the pipe or use in ceremony is inseparable from the moral preparation and spiritual reflection that give it meaning in the whole context of Sioux life. Indigenous people are conscious that with each pipe ceremony they pray not only for themselves and their well being, but for all human beings and the whole of creation.

The intricacies and depths of belief surrounding the pipe itself cannot be summed up in a few words and only truly becomes clear after years. It is vital to note and learn that each part of the pipe—stem, bowl, tobacco, breath, and smoke—is symbolic of the fundamental relationships among plants, animals, humans, elements, and spiritual beings that keep the cosmos in motion. In pipe ceremonies, numerous pinches of tobacco signify prayers of blessing for each part of creation and the whole ancestry and ancestral path. Thus the bowl of the pipe is filled symbolically with the whole sum of existence on all levels. As the tobacco is lit by the fire, inhaled and exhaled as smoke, these prayers of blessing become visible offerings.