Native American Hunters

[TGbow]

I've always loved history. I have always been curious about Native American archery also, and how they hunted. Seems I recall reading years ago that Native American hunters utilized the method hunting from a tree along with other methods.
Just curious if any of you have any knowledge if they hunted from trees.
They used whatever method that would work I'm sure, just curious.

[Mudd]

Good question!!  Or at least I like it...lol

Thank you for asking it!

I really look forward to reading some knowledgeable replies.

Merry Christmas and God bless,Mudd

[TGbow]

Merry Christmas to you also Mudd, and everyone. I'm also interested in early European archery and hunting methods.
Guess I'm intrigued by archery's history..period.

[juneaulongbow]

I have a book by Reginald Laubin called The Indian Tipi.

He also has one called
  American Indian Archery

Click for a preview.

[sweeney3]

I highly suspect they would have had no qualms about utilizing a handy tree or rock or whatever to position themselves to take game.  Remember these folks were hunting much like we work.  It may or may not have been enjoyable (though presumably it was at least relatively so and certainly honorable), but it was absolutely necessary.  I'm sure that hanging out in trees was one of many techniques they might have used as the situation allowed.  I believe that Heroditus in his "Histories" makes mention of archers hunting from elevated positions in trees.

[TGbow]

Yep, they were hunting to feed themselves..whatever it took.

[possumridge137]

I have read that they would also have drives and would also cover themselves in the skins of the animals that they were hunting.

[Ravensong]

Well, it depends on what tribe. Myself, I'm Chickasaw. But I can tell you that a lot of that knowledge has been lost. Most of the hunting lore revolves around the spiritual belief systems regarding hunting, as well as taboos. The actual methods vary. The Plains peoples often had a "buffalo jump" where a herd of buffalo could be stampeded off a cliff. Also, it was a different world before 1492. There were less people and more animals and no firearms. Game was not as skittish then, more than likely. Many tribes also did not rely solely on hunting since they were agrarian. One deer goes a long way dumped into succotash.

 Now, around here, the Navajo have quite a few customs regarding hunting. Don't do this, make sure you do that, avoid this, don't say thus-and-so. One thing that was done was staking out a waterhole. This is high desert and sooner or later, animals come to water.

[Ravensong]

Also, there's a certain issue many people don't understand. A failed hunt might not call the method into question. What might be suspected is the correct prayers were not made or a pre-hunt taboo was violated. For example, in some beliefs, maybe someone stepped over the weapon. Or the animal was in some way offended or insulted and therefore refused to consent to feed the people. If one guy staked out a waterhole and had success, his "medicine", so to speak, was working for him and he made the correct prayers and observed the right taboos. If another had no success, he might not call the method into question but suspect maybe someone got a hold of his weapon at some point or he violated a taboo.

Spiritual beliefs are very deeply attached to hunting in many tribes and often cannot be separated. Even the methods will have a spiritual significance to them. So, in a sense, the religious beliefs are actually part of the method. For example, if someone is going to go up a tree, it will probably have to be only a certain kind of tree but not other trees.

[Bear Heart]

A common misconception is that all the areas of the country had more animals.  Michigan, for example, has way more deer now than 300 years ago.

Here in WA things looked much different. Miles and miles of unbroken  dense forest existed in much of the state.  Elk were more common at lower elevations before we pushed them out of the valleys.

[McDave]

I have two classic books about Native American hunting in California:  Hunting with the bow and Arrow, by Pope, and Ishi in Two Worlds, by Krobler.  As far as early European archery, and the history of archery in general, I can recommend The Grey Goose Wing, by Heath.

[calgarychef]

One of my theories is that a lot of deadfall could be gathered up to make a huge funnel and the animals driven into it then dispatched.  There would be little or no evidence of these funnels after a hundred or so years because the wood would have rotted away.  The Inuit make stone men (inukshuk) and these were probably used in the same way to direct caribou herds.

Don't forget the importance of small animals, I'm sure mice, gophers etc. we're a food source.  Rabbits are easy to snare and still are to this day for food.  Although we like to romanticise archery hunting I also suspect that the bow was a very short range weapon and may have been more useful in a drive than for stalking animals.

[mwosborn]

Interesting thread - never had really thought about it before.

[RedShaft]

I have David zeisbergers book on history eastern indian. A Christian lived with some tribes and documented everything. It's all in that book. Really neat info in there. Has one of jack paluh painting on the front of it.

Honestly. The did what ever they had to do to kill stuff to eat. The most interesting thing was there cooking. Here we think a rabbit on a stick. No... They was good cooks and  even made sweat houses for when they got sick it's all in that book

[Pine]

I'm part Native American and I am a hunter . Does that count ?   :rolleyes:

[Duncan]

This is an interesting subject to me too. Not only the hunting methods but anything about their daily lives. I live in an area once occupied by the Occaneechi a sect of the Saponi tribe. There have been archaelogical digs along the Little River near my home and along the Eno. I have found stone knives and points in my yard and on past hunting grounds while out hunting that were well within range of the known camps. It stirs something in my heart to find a stone point while out hunting. Maybe its sadness that they were displaced by us but anyhow I hold them in high regard and want to know more about them.
I found a archaelogical compilation of one of the dig sites in which animal remains were found and numbered by species. Every known animal, bird or fish from this area was found but interestingly certain animals were found more than others which implies a preference. Another interesting thing was the discovery of fetal skeletal remains of whitetail deer. This implies that pregnant doe deer were taken during the end of their pregnancy which may mean they were easier to drive and dispatch at the head of a funnel by anyone in the tribe. Archery may not have been the primary way of collecting food.

[Ron LaClair]

I have quite a few prints by Jack Paluh. My favorite is this one, Whitetail Ambush. The deer drive is a method that is still used today by modern day hunters.

   

[RedShaft]

If you guys are that interested in all the aspects of there life you will like that book I said about. Here is something.... Now think about this and remember this book was originally written by a Christian who lived with the Indians. in the book it says about a great bear that was respected that walked on its hind legs..... Yeah that's what I was thinking too... Maybe those guys on tv aren't so crazy after all. Squatch!!!!!

Oh and those dogs they had, they sometimes ate them lol

[Dan bree]

Na. They saw Ron in his past life ... Hey Ron how many mountain men  used the bow?   Keep your top not on

[TGbow]

Lot of interesting comments.  I Ajax never thought about hunting from trees as one of their methods of hunting, but I think they used whatever method that it took to eat.