Indigenous Bowyer, making a recurve bow
Making a huntingweight recurve bow. Bowmaking was passed down to me by my father and uncle. Many of the tools I used in this video are handmedowns. Some tools I sought out and purchased. My knowledge has been accumulated from my family, community elders, friends, archery books, museum research and online forums. Today, there arent many Native bowyers alive that pass on these teachings. I want to keep what I learn alive for my future generations by sharing it. + + This bow (65in) is longer than our traditional chestdraw bows which were on average 5055 inches. This is to account for my height and contemporary cornerofthemouth draw style. While I used osage orange, a beautiful bow wood, our traditional preference was oak because it was very accessible. This video and my craft is not intended to depict the most traditional or ancient method, but rather to showcase the way I do things today as a living Native crafter. So much of modern bowmaking is an amalgamation of styles, tools and meth
|
|