Dakota Tools and Weapons Facts

In the 19th century the Minnesota Dakota Indians had a variety of different and interesting tools and weapons to use. The Dakota made their own weapons and tools out of resources that they could find. One of the most common weapons they used were bows and arrows. They would use these weapons for many different tasks including hunting. One of the main animals that the Dakota hunted were buffalo because they were so resourceful. The Dakota didn’t waste anything. They used the horns of the buffalo to make utensils like forks, spoons, cups, and toys. The bones of the buffalo were used to make weapons like arrow heads and hide scrapers. The tail of the buffalo was used for whips, and the stomach and intestines were used for carrying water. The Dakotas used every thing and anything that they could find to be useful to them.

By: Maddy Eiden

Hunting The Dakota Way

The Dakota Indians were some of the best hunters. They had many different ways of hunting the buffalo and other animals. The Dakotas had many different styles of traps. The most common traps were the snare trap, the pitfall trap and the deadfall trap. They would use different animal calls for birds, buffalo, deer, moose, elk, caribou, wild sheep, seals, and the occasional walrus. They used bows and arrows along with tomahawks and spears. They did a lot of fishing and even used one of the first kinds of multi-hook lines. To disguise themselves from the animals they would wear camouflage. They soon found out that their smells also scared away the animals so they covered up their smells with flowers and other sweet scents. They also wore face paint to disguise their facial features. The Dakota were the first great hunters of their time.

By: Rico Cerda

Tomahawks

One of the rarest symbols associated with the Native Americans is the tomahawk. Thewords "Tamahakan” or “Tamahak” mean stone-headed implements used as tools and weapons. The Native Americans would use these to fight, hunt, chop down wood, etc. The Tomahawk was made of solid iron, iron with welded steel bit, brass with steel bit and solid brass. The opposite side of the cutting edge was sometimes made for hammers, spikes, or pipe bowls. Before the Europeans started trading with the Indians, the head of the tomahawk was sometimes made of stone. Depending on what materials they had available, most Indians liked to decorate their tomahawks with cloth and beads and symbols. Sometimes they gave tomahawks as gifts or prepared them for rituals. The Tomahawk was usually a gift they gave after trading so the Indians declared it a sign of peace. This powerful, historical, and important weapon and tool has lots of meaning to it and it was and is very important to the Native Americans.

By: Julie Amble

Dakota Indians Most Important Weapon

Have you ever wondered how the Dakota Indians got most of their work done? Well the weapon that helped the Indians the most was the spear. The spear is something as simple as a stick with a sharpened point or can be very complex with a chipped piece of flint tied or glued on with animal skin at the tip of a stick. The spear is a main part of the Dakota Indian habitat and one major contributor to why they have stayed alive so long. Not only did the Dakota use spears to get food like buffalo and fish, but the Dakota used the spear to help with their fight against the Europeans. Spears were also generally popular on the trade market, but the spears were also stolen by the Europeans. In the end, the spear did not help the Dakota Indians enough because they would be here right now if it did.


By: Nick Bailey