When a girl had her first menstrual period, a ceremony was held to purify her in preparation for becoming a woman and bearing children. Her family built a tipi and gathered the necessary objects for the ritual, which was conducted by a holy man.
On the day of the ceremony, sweetgrass was burned and all the objects purified with the smoke. The Pipe was smoked and prayer offered up to Wakan Tanka and to the four directions and to the Earth.
In the ceremony, a buffalo skull was a central object. It was painted with the red paint symbolizing the earth, and cherries and water were placed before it. Tobacco was spread in the shape of a cross, and blue paint put on it, symbolizing the coming together of earth and sky.
The holy man then gave the girl a piece of buffalo meat, and the water and cherries were passed to the members of her family.
A feast was held, and a giveaway took place. The goodness and holiness that came to the young girl also then extended to the whole tribe.