Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Cultural Services

Item's Choctaw Name:  Iti Naki

Item's English Name:  Wooden Arrows (5)

Age:  pre-1828

Material: Hardwood shoots (probably dogwood), antler points, turkey wing feathers

Dimensions:

            Length- 74-77cm

            Max Shaft Diameter- 7.8-8.3mm

            Fletching Length- 16.3-18cm

            Point Length- 53.5-78.5mm

Origin: Museum records identify as "Choctaw? / Creek? From Georgia"

Current Owner: Peabody Museum, Harvard University (#52972, #52973, & #52974)

Location: Cambridge, MA.

Notes: This set of very well-made and matched arrows may be the earliest Choctaw examples still in existance.  These are heavy and meant for war.  All are designed for a 68 cm draw length.  The nocks are shallow and rounded.  The fletchings are radial (three feathers), and were once glued to the shaft along their entire lengths.  The ends of the quills are attached flat to the shaft with what were once smooth sinew wrappings.  The arrow points are made from shaped antler.  Their bases are conical to receive the pointed end of the arrow shaft.  They are attached with a dark-colored adhesive that has fiber mixed with it.

The shafts were shaped by scraping and sanding on a moderately coarse surface.  The same is true for the antler points. The quills of the feathers have been split and sanded, not stripped.  The paint colors, red and black, symbolized blood and death in traditional Choctaw thought, and are the colors that warriors wore into battle.