Native American Survival Skills

By W. Ben Hunt

W. Ben Hunt, whose Sioux name was Tasunka Witko, traveled throughout the Midwest, living with several Native American tribes, finally settling near the site of the last Sioux uprising. Here he provides step-by-step instructions and exact dimensions to make Sioux ghost shirts, Plains Indian shields, box traps, Iniut snowshoes, and more. From making rawhide to putting the finishing touches on a pair of moccasins, beginners and seasoned woodsmen alike will enjoy making the tools and camp equipment that were used for centuries. Native American Survival Skills is a remarkable source of information about the Americans who first pioneered self-sufficient living. In it, there are lessons for all of us today.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Skyhorse
• Release date: Feb 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781626366343

W. Ben Hunt

W. Ben Hunt, born at the close of the nineteenth century, spent many years roaming the Midwest and living occasionally with Native American tribes. The line drawings he made on such excursions preserved the Native American's survival techniques. An author of more than twenty books, he died in 1970.

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Copyright © 2010 by Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hunt, W. Ben (Walter Ben), 1888-1970.

  Native American survival skills / W. Ben Hunt.

        p. cm.

  Originally published: New York : Outdoor Life Books : Meredith Press, 1991, under title

American Indian survival skills.

  ISBN 978-1-60239-765-1

   1. Indian craft--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Indians of North America--Industries--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Outdoor life--North America--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Survival skills--North America--Handbooks, manuals, etc. 5. Wilderness survival--North America--Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Hunt, W. Ben (Walter Ben), 1888-1970. American Indian survival skills. II. Title.

  TT22.H85 2009

  745.5--dc22

                                                                                           2009025068

Printed in the United States of America

Bull Dance, Mandan-O-Kee-pa ceremony, George Catlin, 1832.

Photograph courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

W. Ben Hunt was born in Wisconsin over a hundred years ago. Most of his life was spent in teaching, art work, writings and lecturing about Indiancraft and campcraft. He was a self-taught expert on the crafts of the Plains and Woodland Indians, and he spent several years traveling in the Southwest to acquaint himself with the techniques of silverwork that are part of the Navajo and Hopi tradition.

Native American Survival Skills is compiled from several books that were published in the late 1930s and early 1940s. We have tried to collect the most usable and amusing projects and assemble them in a logical and clear organization.

Although most of us will probably never be forced to use our own hands, wits, and woodcraft to survive on a camping trip or in the woods, a knowledge of such skills is invaluable. Everyone should be able to use a knife, ax, or thongs, to make simple tools and equipment. And, being able to survive using your own Indian woodcraft skills makes you feel so confident it is worth collecting the knowledge.

Many of the authentic methods for making things that are shown in this book are not known by younger Indians. Much of the information has been obtained through interviews with old-timers, and through careful research into Indian folklore and skin paintings.

For example, the weaving of the beautiful woodland Indian bags is an art that has almost disappeared.

When using this book, try to think like the Indian. Select what you can from nature, adapt it for your own use, make your own tools, and always be aware of the bounty of materials that is part of the American Indian heritage. Give thanks for the saplings, the rough leather thongs, and the colorful nature-inspired designs. In using the techniques of woodcraft and campcraft of the American Indian, you are fashioning objects that re-create the time and life of a great people. But, most of all, enjoy the forests, and live for and with the land that the Indians loved so well.

This edition of W. Ben Hunt's work was created with the help of two wonderful researchers: Susan Otto of the Milwaukee Public Museum Photo Collection in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Laura Nash of the Museum of the American Indian in New York City Laura Nash allowed the editors and designer to visit the museum, and helped access photographs that seemed to reflect the projects in W. Ben Hunt's illustrations. Susan Otto sent us dozens of photocopies of artifacts and helped us select from her extensive files. This work is time consuming, and we appreciate the extra effort that was made.

CONTENTS

BASIC TOOLS AND MATERIALS

The Workshop

Tools

Materials

How to Make Rawhide

HOW TO MAKE RAWHIDE

Knife and Ax Sheaths

KNIFE SHEATHS—AX SHEATHS

Sandals

SANDALS OF RAWHIDE

Tanning

A SIMPLE TANNING METHOD

INDIAN CLOTHING

Buckskin Shirts

INDIAN BUCKSKIN SHIRT

Sioux Ghost Shirts

SIOUX GHOST SHIRTS

Indian Leggings and Breechclout

INDIAN LEGGINGS AND BREECHCLOUT

Indian Moccasins

INDIAN MOCCASINS

Concha Belts

MAKE A BELT

CONCHAS

INDIAN DESIGNS AND DECORATIONS

Materials and Designs

INDIAN DESIGNS AND DECORATIONS

Indian Symbols and Designs

INDIAN SYMBOLS AND DESIGNS

Indian Beadwork

INDIAN BEADWORK

Vests

BEADED INDIAN VESTS

INDIAN AND RODEO VESTS

HEADDRESSES AND NECKLACES

Roach

A CHEYENNE ROACH

War Bonnets and Headdresses

INDIAN FEATHER HEADDRESS

A STOUAN TURBAN HEADRESS

Indian War Bonnets

INDIAN WAR BONNET

Indian Necklaces

BEAR CLAW NECKLACE

Pump Drills

A PUMP DRILL

Hints on Working with Bone

INDIAN BONE BREASTPLATE

BONE AND SHELL NECKLACE

INDIAN CEREMONIES

Medicine Poles or Ownership Staffs

LANCES

CEREMONIAL LANCES—COUP STIKS

OWNERSHIP STAFFS

Whittling

WHITTLING

False Faces and Masks

CARVING AND WHITTLING FALSE FACES AND MASKS

FALSE FACES AND MASKS

Neckerchief Slides

NECKERCHIEF SLIDES

Indian Peace Pipes

INDIAN PEACE PIPES

Ceremonial Indian Bow and Arrows

CEREMONIAL INDIAN BOW AND ARROWS

Kachina Dolls

HOPI TIHUS DOLLS

HUNTING, WAR, AND GAMES

Shields

PLANINS INDIAN SHIELDS

Indian War Clubs

INDIAN WAR CLUBS

A CHIPPEWA FISH SPEAR

FROG SPEARS

Lacrosse Sticks

LACROSSE STICKS

Throwing Stick

Throwing Arrows

CROW THROWING ARROWS

HOPI THROWING STICK

Indian Hoop Game

INDIAN HOOP GAME

Box Traps

BOX TRAPS

INDIANS OF THE NORTH

Indian Totem Poles

Totem Pole.

TOTEM POLE

Snow Goggles

SNOW GOGGLES