Lewis and Clark: Native American Encounters Lewis and Clark developed a first contact protocol for meeting new tribes. They also told the Indians that America owned their land and offered military protection in exchange for peace. Some Indians had met “white men” before and were friendly and open to trade.

Natives were subjects of the Spanish crown, and to treat them as less than human violated the laws of God, nature, and Spain. He told King Ferdinand that in 1515 scores of natives were being slaughtered by avaricious conquistadors without having been converted.

10th Century — The Vikings: The Vikings’ early expeditions to North America are well documented and accepted as historical fact by most scholars. Around the year 1000 A.D., the Viking explorer Leif Erikson, son of Erik the Red, sailed to a place he called “Vinland,” in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

Other than the surprising fact that they have no religion, Vespucci is disgusted by the fact that they have their women “being very lustful” and causing the private part of the man to swell up. …

He included on the map data gathered by Vespucci during his voyages of 1501-1502 to the New World. Waldseemüller named the new lands “America” on his 1507 map in the recognition of Vespucci’s understanding that a new continent had been uncovered following Columbus’ and subsequent voyages in the late 15th century.

Know the Weapons of Native Americans

• Gunstock War Club.
• War Hatchet.
• Pipe Tomahawk.
• Knives.
• Spears.
• Lancets. Lances are much like spears but are more.
• Atlatl. Yet another weapon, the atlatl, is an instrument utilized to throw spears.
• Bows And Arrows. Bows and provide long-range achieve and arrows have long been around for at least 8,000 decades.

Native American weapons included Tomahawks, Axes, The Lance, bow and arrows, Shields, knives, Atlatl – spear throwers, Spear, Blowguns, War clubs, Arrowheads, Battle Hammers, Jawbone clubs and Slingshots. Although these were all made of stone these primitive weapons were still deadly.

Tomahawks originated in North America where they were used by the Iroquoian and Algonquian Indians. They used tomahawks as tools or weapons, but they were also used in celebrations and ceremonies.

Some of the indigenous tribes armed with bows and arrows and riding on horseback included the Sioux, Cheyenne, Blackfoot, and Comanche to name a but few. The natives of the eastern woodlands typically used long self bows.

50-70 lbs

The earliest definite remains of bow and arrow from Europe are possible fragments from Germany found at Mannheim-Vogelstang dated 000 years ago, and at Stellmoor dated 11,000 years ago.

However, broadly speaking, a native bow would max out at 50lb draw weight and have a maximum range of 150 yards (perhaps stretched to 200 yards for a good archer with an excellent bow). I have no idea what kind of combat distance would be involved.

283.47 m

Men’s team recurve

As 1830s and early 1840s Southwestern traveler Josiah Gregg put it: “The arms of the wild Indians are chiefly the bow and arrows, with the use of which they become remarkably expert…at distances under fifty yards, with an accuracy equal to the rifle.”

Historical

• Minamoto no Tametomo.
• Nasu no Yoichi.
• Robin Hood (Although the classical Robin is a fiction, his character is probably a conflation of several real historical figures)
• Saxton Pope.
• Taishi Ci.
• Yue Fei.
• Zhou Tong (archer)
• Jebe.

Piercing weapons Spears were used by the Native Americans to thrust and strike their enemies or the animals they were hunting. The spears were made of a short blade or tip, made from stone, and attached to the end of long wooden handle or shaft. Some variations did not even have a stone tip.

They made bows and arrows out of hickory or ash wood. The tips of the arrows were made out of turtle, antler bone, and deer bone. They were very hard. They made blowguns and darts out of wood and hollow reeds, which were used to hunt birds.

The Iroquois used bows & arrows to hunt for deer, elk, ducks and fish and then later guns were used to hunt for bears , deer , rabbits , elks and ducks. Those are some uses of the hunt.

What did they wear? Iroquois clothing was made from tanned deerskin. The men wore leggings and long breechcloths while the women wore long skirts. Both men and women wore deerskin shirts or blouses and soft shoes made of leather called moccasins.

Iroquois people still exist today. Iroquois Indians became known for their light foot and fearlessness in bridge constructuion, and helped build the bridge over the St. Lawrence River in 1886 (McCall 28). Today most Native American peoples have adopted western culture and live in the American melting pot.