Sioux Club + age?

[Jim McDougall]

It is excellent to see an American Indian weapon presented here, and done well with supporting evidence of provenanced items using similar crimson material as seen in some of the decoration of this war club.
The color red was significant among various tribes and along with other colors seemed to have similar meanings pertaining to both war and peaceful circumstances.
According to James Mooney, "History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees" (1900), red was the color of the war club. While this club is noted as Oglala Sioux, naturally the general meanings and types of weapons were widely diffused through many tribes.

Colin F. Taylor ("Native American Weapons", 2001, p.16) describes a heavy round headed stone entirely covered with rawhide or buckskin which was in turn sewn around the wooden handle. It left 2" of rawhide between the handle and stone head free. Apparantly this free moving stone dealt a lethal blow. These were common on the plains and Southwest, with suggestions they originated west of the Rockies.

The idea of origin to the west seems supported by example #32, p.180 ("The American Indian", A. Hyatt Verrill, N.Y. 1927) which is one of these round stone types attached in what appears this manner to a haft, and classified as Apache.

Sitting Bull, the famed chief, was Oglala, and in an article by Harry H. Anderson, an official of the South Dakota Historical Society, one of his war clubs is described. In "The War Club of Sitting Bull the Oglala" (Nebraska History 42, 1961, p. 55-62) a three bladed 'gunstock club' used by him is described and illustrated in photos of c. 1874. In the grouping of weapons presumably Oglala and with Sitting Bull's is one of these round stone, leather covered war clubs. It appears that decoration at the end of the haft are feathers, much like in the line illustration of the Apache example (Verrill, op.cit. ).
While the stone head on these as well as in Taylors description suggest the head is round, naturally these shapes vary widely, and elliptical as this example within the expected range.

Since the bladed so called 'gunstock' type clubs seem to have come into use by the Plains tribes in 1860s according to Anderson, it would seem that these stone head types were somewhat supplanted but clearly still in use by 1870s.

The red color of the material seems corroborated to the provenanced items of mid 19th c. and according to what is noted on clubs of this form it would seem quite plausible that it is indeed Oglala as noted and probably of the first half of the 19thc.

[Battara]

Although not my area of expertise, it does look like a reservation period piece to me.

Would like to hear from others though........

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Battara

Although not my area of expertise, it does look like a reservation period piece to me.

Would like to hear from others though........

Me too.

[Tim Simmons]

Thank you for your replies. I am still holding out for the turn of the 19th century. This picture captures the period. I do not think the club in question has that look of fantastic recreation or replica, I am sure members here know what I mean. I am not forgeting the "first nation" hope that is the right term, artists are still making beautiful artefacts today, which I doubt I could afford. Again I appeal to a colletive knowledege and wisdom about the value in the look of this hopefully older piece that I need not even try to explain.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Tim Simmons

Thank you for your replies. I am still holding out for the turn of the 19th century. This picture captures the period. I do not think the club in question has that look of fantastic recreation or replica, I am sure members here know what I mean. I am not forgeting the "first nation" hope that is the right term, artists are still making beautiful artefacts today, which I doubt I could afford. Again I appeal to a colletive knowledege and wisdom about the value in the look of this hopefully older piece that I need not even try to explain.

My intrigue with this fascinating club has compelled me to continue looking and to continue my soliloquy here. I completely agree that this item distinctly does not meet the typical shrug of a commercial souvenier as it carries unique nuances which are faithful to these important weapons.
As noted, to serious collectors of ethnographic weapons, and who endeavor to understand the cultures of the peoples using these arms, further explanation of these would be superfluous.

In the approximation of date on this piece, I had misunderstood the note to 'turn of the 19th century' to mean beginning of it rather than end of the century. The broader term of 'reservation period' carries from 1880-1960 quite loosely. It is important to understand that the Oglala tribes, among the Lakota (Sioux) confederation, were situated in South Dakota from the 18th century. The original reservation included most of the state, including the Black Hills, sacred land to these tribes, and guaranteed to them in the Ft. Laramie treaty (1868) , one promise of many broken and added to the shameful treatment of these people during these times.

In 1890 a religious movement called the 'Spirit Dance', later termed the 'Ghost Dance' began with many of these tribes hoping for the preservation of thier culture and return to thier way of life. Unfortunate events resulted with the murder of chief Sitting Bull and ultimately the massacre of 153 Lakota at Wounded Knee, South Dakota by U.S. troops.
These matters remain largely unresolved to this day, and efforts to monetarily do so for the Black Hills remain rejected by the Lakota, who were offered 122 million dollars in 1980.
I travelled through there several years ago, and recall the signs and misc. which say, 'the Black Hills are not for sale!'. A visit to Wounded Knee and the museum there was the most sobering and poignant experience I have had.
I was born in Dakota, I have been to American Indian reservations and regions throughout the country countless times. One of the greatest things of note is at Little Big Horn, where the presumed locations of fallen soldiers were always marked, with none for the Braves who died. Now, the places where these warriors fell are marked in the same way, each noting a warrior had fallen there, and died defending his way of life.
Having noted these things, back to the club.

According to "Mystic Warriors of the Plains" (Thomas Mails, 1972, p.465). this type of war club is often referred to as the 'slingshot type'. The head is held by a twisted piece of rawhide which is flexibleto keep the head from breaking off on impact. These were almost invariably given a horsehair tail pendant. It seems that those for combat usually had a wrist strap. The stone was typically carefully selected from river and stream beds for the smoothness.
I agree that this stone is likely to have ancestral or significant heritage, and the club itself was probably refurbished later, holding to traditional standards and probably for ceremonial purposes. Clubs of this type were also implemented as burial items for important chiefs or tribal figures.
As this has been remounted apparantly we would not expect the normal wear in the twisted rawhide or buckskin casing for the stone, nor on that covering the shaft. I would suspect this to date to the latter 19th century in the historically tragic times described, and to have served as an important ceremonial item, possibly with even more venerated history with the stone itself.
"...one day thier hearts sang for joy; one day they danced
in the sun. The next day there was no sun, and no reason
for song".

[Tim Simmons]

While waiting I have some more pictorial information on the period that I hope the new item comes from. It is most probably a dance club. That is not to say that back in early 1800s they were not close quarter weapons. The pictures come from "The British Museum, Ritual & Honour, Warriors of the North American Plains"

[Jeff D]

Hi Tim,

I really have nothing more to add to Jim's excellent observations, but maybe the small information I have may be useful to you. I think the only way to date your club is by the beads. The colour and type can sometimes be dated (not by by me). I will include a picture of 3 clubs in the Glenbow museum in Calgary, they most likely are Souix or Blackfoot. I also will include a club head that I have from my Grandfather's farm in Saskatchewan it most likely is Cree.

All the best
Jeff