TOMAHAWK

TOMAHAWK appears to derive from the Algonquian tamahawk, or cutting utensil. The earliest English reference to the word came from John Smith, who indicated that it could mean "axe" or "war club." Over time the term came to denote metal trade hatchets rather than other forms. Tomahawks were among the most popular items Europeans brought to the fur trade. Innumerable varieties developed, from simple hand-forged tomahawks to those elaborately inlaid with precious metals; some featured a spike or hammer head opposite the blade. Spontoon tomahawks had a spearlike blade, suitable for war, not woodcutting. One of the most popular types was the pipe tomahawk, featuring a pipe bowl opposite the blade and a handle drilled through to allow for smoking.

Metal trade tomahawks became much prized throughout North America, and were widespread in eastern North America by 1700. Their spread coincided with growth in the fur and hide trade. Tomahawks coexisted with older forms of clubs and hybrid weapons well into the nineteenth century. While very popular with both Indians and white settlers, tomahawks and other hand weapons were increasingly reduced to a ceremonial role in Native American life by the advent of repeating firearms in the mid-nineteenth century. Symbolically, tomahawks remain synonymous with North American Indian warriors and warfare.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hartzler, Daniel D., and James A. Knowles. Indian Tomahawks and Frontiersman Belt Axes. Baltimore: Windcrest, 1995.

Peterson, Harold L. American Indian Tomahawks. Rev. ed. New York: Heye Foundation, 1971.

Robert M.Owens

See alsoIndian Trade and Traders .

tom·a·hawk / ˈtäməˌhôk/ • n. a light ax used as a tool or weapon by American Indians.• v. [tr.] strike or cut with or as if with a tomahawk.ORIGIN: early 17th cent.: from a Virginia Algonquian language.

Tomahawk ★★½ 1951

Indian sympathizer Jim Bridger (Heflin) is a local scout who anticipates trouble when the government decides to build a wagon route straight through Sioux hunting grounds in order to reach Montana's gold mines. The touchy situation is made worse by cavalry officer Dancy (Nicol) who thinks the only good Indian is a dead one. 82m/C VHS . Van Heflin, Preston Foster, Yvonne De Carlo, Alex Nicol, Jack Oakie, Tom Tully, Rock Hudson, Ann Doran; D: George Sherman; W: Maurice Geraghty, Silvia Richards; C: Charles P. Boyle; M: Hans J. Salter.

tomahawk XVII. of Algonquian orig.