The classic war axe of the Pawnee who fought the Comanche and Kiowa. 22” length, with wood haft encased in the topstitched hide. Finger fluted grip above a fringed hide band. The exposed butt was cut with a clan mark. Forged iron head with triangular bit pierced with a triangle. The diamond-shaped socket with finely delineated raised ridges to the three edges. The haft front is encased in hide with hide fringe both sides of the socket. The blade with red and white paint decoration, now faded. The Pawnee were indigenous to Loup and Platte River before the forced migrations of the Great Lakes tribes. Pawnee fought the Comanche and Kiowa and eventually migrated to the Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma, in the 1870s. This weapon dates to the earlier period when they were active in defending their territory from tribal invaders
