Country of Origin: Canada or the United States
Year: ca. 1800s
Materials: Wood with leather strap
This club is one of the pieces belonging to Indigenous groups in Canada, and this has been identified as belonging to Iroquois peoples. Typical to the clubs attributed to the Confederacy, these weapons were asymmetrical, often with a curved and stylized handle. The heavy round head and handle are both carved from a single piece of wood. On the one side there is a carved image of a snake, on the other side there is an image of a fish.
Unfortunately, it was common for many upper-class Canadian families in the Victorian Era to have Indigenous artifacts in their private collections. Objects belonging to Indigenous people were seen as items of curiosity and majority did not understand the importance of objects to their communities. Eldon House aims to discuss the colonial impact of Victorian collecting on communities including those that affected Indigenous populations.