Re: War Clubs versus ... Nut Crackers????

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: : One of the things I disagreed with Russell Means the most with, of things we talked about in his interview, was something no one has so far mentioned. It has little to do with racism, his prevelant theme. Those comments, at least, I can underestand to a point.

: : This is the statement that there was no such thing as "war clubs!" He took it further, stating they were nothing more than "nut crackers." Hmmmm ... I can envision this scenario, possibly. It was hundreds, maybe thousands, of years ago. Very primitive, stone age-type Indians had these little tools that they used to crack nuts with. One day, while busy cracking his supply of nuts, a warrior was attacked by another man. The only thing handy to defend himself with was this nut cracker. WHACK! He hit his attacker, full force, in the head. Our nut cracking Indian said, "Hey! This thing makes a good weapon." He modified it. He made it larger. He decorated it. It became, over the years, a War Club. 

: : Nobody would ornately decorate a nut cracker the way some of the war clubs we know of are. But a Warrior Society ... when the main path to success & influence is through deeds of warfare, a weapon, a prized possession, is VERY likely to be decorated thusly. In addition, the size of those seen in museums (even on Indian reservations) is much too big to be practical as a "nut cracker." This doesn't even begin to take into account the written record that mentions them frequently ... even Indian accounts.

: : His assertion baffles me.

: : Anybody have thoughts on this issue? One way or the other?
: _______________________________________________________________

:  Well I can see that I`m a bit late on this one but you all have covered it quite well. But just for the record, as Champ stated, The gunstock "club" that was used in the movie WAS copied from the muskets that the white man carried. When the empty musket was used as a club, the flintlock on the side did some terrible damage and it was this "lock" on the side of the musket that was copied when the spike was added. Think about it.
:  As for the "nutcrackers". I have three ballheaded warclubs in my collection and from the way they are decorated, heads were the only thing they cracked.
:  Champ, my wife is a Western Cherokee tribal member. I am a French/Choctow and we reenact our 1760`s ancestery as well.

: Clabair


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