Unbroken: Indigenous Peoples Today

Great Plains Native American Jawbone War Club

Lakota warrior, Nick Ohitika Najin, holds a traditionally made war club crafted from a bison jaw. With its natural curve, light weight, and brittle yet hard composition, these clubs were often sharpened and could be used for deadly close quarters combat as well other general tasks like digging and threshing grass.
Jawbone clubs can also be made from the jaws of deer, elk, bear, and horses, and in most Native cultures, carrying a piece of an animal and/or showing respect to its owner can lend you its spirit and strengths. Particularly in the Great Plains nations, the bison is one of the most frequently honored animals, representing strength, generosity and unity, and is also the inspiration for many ceremonies, dances, and artworks.
"Anything, any kind of animal in a way, if it's there it's because the Creator put it there for you. Let's say you see a squirrel that got ran over by a car, and you're out running and you just happen to be by it, that spirit is still there. When I run by it, what I do, I'll say, 'Hey. I'm sorry that happened to you.' So I'll acknowledge that spirit and say 'come with me' so they can keep going. Know that just like a human, that spirit will linger there until some acknowledgement happens."
"The Creator ended their life there, and when you came by, something in your head tells you 'I feel bad for this animal that passed away right here. I don't want your spirit to go away, to go to waste. Come with me and we'll have a long journey together. It means something. You don't just pass by something or take its life and not think of it. It's just like a picture of someone who passed away a long time ago. Their energy is still with you because of the memories that you brought back through the picture."

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