Materials

wood, feathers, string (linen?) , paint

Techniques or Format

carved from single piece of wood and painted red

Original and Subsequent Uses

"Carved wooden clubs in two styles are made...these are used in the social dances held from time to time during the winter. Most of these clubs are made by the Potowatomi and native tradition again tells us that it was the Potowatomi who introduced them here." (Johnson, 205).

Other Notes

Rectangular, laterally flattened handle curves and terminates in a globular head formed from a natural knot. Head is irregular, rounded. Butt end is slanted to form an upturned point. Bundle of feathers (pink/brown and orange/brown) are tied together at one end with a wrapping of string. Feathers are secured to handle with four strands of string wrapped around the handle just above the head.

Dimensions: 50 × 16.4 × 4 cm

Condition: Feathers damaged, string binding for feathers loose, paint worn, wood cracked on head and upper end of handle, black deposit on head (Feb. 1984)

Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Collected by John Reynolds before 1920.

Current Location: Canadian Museum of History, Ottawa, Canada

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: III-G-1447

Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 9 November 1981

Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: pre 1920

Collection Narratives and Histories

John Reynolds (1865-1924) lived and was a prominent merchant in Manitowaning, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. He ceased collecting by 1920. After his death tin 1924, the collection went to his daughter. The item was transferred to the CMC in 1981 from the Canadian War Museum.

Sources to Learn More

<br/>Brasser, Ted. "War Clubs." American Indian Tradition, 7.3 (1961): 77-83.
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<br/>Peterson, Harold L. American Indian Tomahawks. Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, 1965.
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<br/>Holmes, William H. "The Tomahawk." American Anthropologist, 10 (1908): 264-276.
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<br/>Johnson, F. "Notes on the Ojibwa and Potawatomi of the Parry Island Reservation, Ont." Indian Notes. 6.3 (July 1929): 193-216.
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GKS Reference Number: 25851