Post # 4 - Southern war clubs of the 18th c.

Hello everyone,

Today I'm thinking about Southeastern war clubs of the 18th c., particularly those in use by the Cherokee. To date, there are no surviving clubs that date to the 18th c. and have a documented attribution to any Southeastern Nation. There are 2 clubs out there that might be Southeastern, but are not absolutely attributed. One is in the Splendid Heritage collection, the other is at Trotta Bond auction house:

http://www.splendidheritage.com/nindex.html (search for "southeast" and you'll find it)

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/folk-art/native-american-objects/rare-antique-native-american-animal-effigy-club-19th-century/id-f_1988882/


Looking at the surviving text of the 18th c. - you can see a distinct pattern emerge in style of Southeastern clubs as they were seen by Europeans :

"It is the custom of the Indians, to leave a club, something in the form of a cricket-bat, but with their warlike exploits engraved on it, in their enemy's country, and the enemy accepts the defiance, by bringing this back to their country."  Timberlake.

"having Wooden Falchions in their Hands, (such as Stage-Fencers commonly use;) in this Dress they danced about an Hour, shewing many strange Gestures, and brandishing their Wooden Weapons, as if they were going to fight each other" Lawson, 1709. Describing a Catawba war dance.

The following is an image of a Natchez Native holding a club, this one has a ball on the rear :

Then there's the "7 Cherokee in London" image that appears to show a "large head"  war club (similar to the one in the Splendid Heritage collection) being held by one of the Cherokee in the back :

The "atassa" is another name for a particular type of Southeastern club that is notched on one side and can be seen in this image :

Perhaps one day a firmly attributed Southern club will be found and brought to the public so we can have a solid example to base our research and study on, or more research will be done on the 2 clubs I linked earlier and their attribution can be backed up. Until then we just have to remain as close to the documented images and text that we have when portraying or discussing war clubs of the Southeast.

Post # 3 - Creek (Muskogee) Map

Hello everyone,

This post is going to demonstrate how we, as researchers, view a historical image and retrieve useful information about Native material culture. It's important to not only see the "big picture" or what the artist is trying to display, but also the fine details that can add to our general understanding of the period and what items were being used during that time, and what items have simply been placed by or changed by the artist.

This image is entitled "A Draught of the Creek Nation - 1757" by Bonar. As students of Southeast Native material culture, we can see many items that can add to our knowledge of Creek (Muskogee) during the mid-18th century.

First off, just looking at the center map of the Creek Nation is valuable as it shows precise locations of towns and water systems in 1757. This area is in present day Georgia and near the border of North Carolina and South Carolina. As you can see, the Creeks were not that far from the Cherokee towns of the same time. You can also see, on the right hand side of the map, the "Upper Path to Augusta", that being Augusta/North Augusta in present day Georgia/South Carolina. An important conference of Southeast Nations was held in Augusta in 1756 too.

Looking at the upper most right hand panel of the picture, you can see an image of Creek weapons (and a drum) which I think is one of the main reasons this image is so important as it clearly shows the actual items being used by the Creek in the 1750's. There are precious few images that display such important and scare things like this, and we can use this to help us determine the features and characteristics that distinguish the Southeast Nations from others.

The following weapons can all be seen :   spike tomahawk, pipe tomahawk, dart tip'd spear, bow and arrows, sword/cutlass, trade gun, powder horn, ball head war club with spike, and a gunstock/falchion shaped war club with spike. The lower right hand image shows a similar shaped war club with spike being held by a Native.

You can also see a mirror framed in wood below the drum, a must have for any 18th c. Native warrior.

All these items are typical of mid-18th c. Native weapons but this image gives credit and provides documentation to them being in use by the Creek. Such information is rare and hard to find, so we should try to get as much knowledge from images like this as we can.

Post # 2 - Sister Sites

Hello everyone,

This is our group's site :
http://johnthastings.wix.com/southeastnativeassoc

I would also like to share some other great sites about 18th c. eastern woodland Natives (some North/some South) ; each is very well made by some real talented and knowledgeable folks :

http://aparcelofstroudsduffieldsblanket.weebly.com/

http://amohkali.com/

http://edgeotw.blogspot.com/

http://frenchinwisconsin.com/category/blog/


Then there's the 18th c. forum :

http://frontierfolk.net/phpBB/

And the 18th c. Contemporary Makers Blog :

http://contemporarymakers.blogspot.com/

Plus the CLA :

http://longrifle.com/


If you have any other blogs or sites to add to this list let me know.

Enjoy!

Introduction - Post #1

Greetings!
Wah-doh!

A-shlaf!

Hello and Welcome to the Southeast Native American Research Association.

We are a research group dedicated to the preservation and study of Native American material culture in the Southeastern United States. Founded 2015 in North Carolina, we are actively pursuing new information, art, and items attributed to the Catawba, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, and Creek (Muskogee) Nations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Mississippi during the 16th - 19th c.

This blog will be updated regularly, and posts will include current research and work being done by group members. We will also post period images and quotes and invite others to share in the discussion.

For more information please contact:

John Hastings
johnt.hastings@yahoo.com