Dear MrPiz,
after some further research, I can assure you that the information about the alleged Sitting Bull - pipe is not a hoax, actually it is a fact well known in certain spiritual circles in Germany. It is only unclear wether said pipe was really Sitting Bull`s (most likely not, though) and how much exactly was paid for it (even though it was certainly a substantial amount - information varies between 10000 and 17000, either dollars or euros).
This pipe was purchased by the same people, who have paid Thompson and Narr substantial amounts of money in the past for conducting sundances in Germany and they have been explicitly secretive about how much they paid them (they even refused to tell the dancers, wich made some of them reasonably angry).
That may be the reason why the exact price of the alleged Sitting Bull - pipe is uncertain, but the deal as such is definetly not.
Besides, if the Vision - dance in Italy turned out to be a joke, yet people are willing to pay 1500 euro for it, than how can we assume, that followers of John Fire jr., or Thompson and Narr, or anyone else, would not be willing to pay lots of money for pipes or participation in seminars or various sorts of ceremonies?
And expierience shows, that people craving for spiritual advancment are usually very willing (and very much able) to pay up, if they are lead to believe that their desires
will be met, their dreams fulfilled.
Research indicates that this even goes as far as selling / purchasing the right, power or ability to conduct Lowanpi and Yuwipi ceremonies! Apparently, many people are aware of this and feel somewhat uneasy about it, but are lacking the courage or sufficient knowledge to speak up against such practices.
Seems like money is the bottom line of spirituality, and to believe anything else is just plain naivite.
