Subject: sachem war chief

Culture: Iroquois & allied Indians

Setting: Great Lakes/Ohio Valley 18th - early 19thc

Object: tomahawk

Yorktown Victory Center [bottom] *

"Tomahawk, American, c. 1750, iron and wood. Tomahawks such as this were often used for military or ceremonial purposes in the Revolutionary period. The terms 'tomahawk' and 'hatchet' were employed as symbols of war in many speeches and treaties.

Little Abraham, in a speech at Albany, New York, on August 31, 1775, stated: '... You desired us to take no part, but to bury the hatchet.'"

* Fort Pitt Museum

Fort Pitt Museum *

* Fort Pitt Museum

Royal Ontario Museum > Canada -- First Peoples *

"Pipe-tomahawk Joseph Brant, Mohawk Laiton, acier, bois, ivoire XVIIIe siècle ..."

"Pipe tomahawk Joseph Brant, Mohawk Brass, steel, wood, ivory 18th century" ...

* Royal Armouries Museum > Self-Defence Gallery

"Trade tomahawk English, about 1800 Commercially manufactured iron goods, such as axes, knives and arrowheads, were exported from Europe to America. These tomahawks were made in England and would have been traded for fur, skins or even gold." ...

"Trade tomahawk English, about 1800 This 'peace pipe' was a popular type among the native American tribes. Tomahawks had a multitude of uses, and good quality examples were highly prized." ...