If you love hands-on projects for your unit studies, I have 13 easy Native American crafts that you are going to love. You’ll also love my page Native American Unit Study for Kids Who Love Hands-on Learning.
Native American crafts are rich in history and cultural significance.
They are reflections of the traditions, beliefs, and artistic skills of the different Native American tribes across North America.
These crafts demonstrate a wide range of artistic expressions, including pottery, weaving, beadwork, basketry, and carving.
Important artifacts like arrowheads are still being discovered today.
They are found in dried-up creeks, springs, rock overhangs, or around lakes and rivers.
Creating arrowheads was a skill that was passed down through generations.
It started with reaching small boys and each tribe had its unique style and methods of crafting arrowheads.
Join me on an exciting journey to unlock the mysteries of arrowheads and gain a deeper appreciation for the ancient civilizations that relied on them for weapons and tools.
Get ready to discover the secrets of flint knapping and facts about arrowheads, you can even try your hand at creating your own arrowhead replicas.
Also, look at some of these books about Native Americans.
16 Books About Native Americans
You’ll love these books about various Native American tribes and how they lived and their rich history.
Saxso is fourteen when the British attack his village. It’s 1759, and war is raging in the northeast between the British and the French, with the Abenaki people Saxso’s people by their side. Without enough warriors
to defend their homes, Saxso’s village is burned to the ground. Many people are killed, but some, including Saxso’s mother and two sisters, are taken hostage. Now it’s up to Saxso, on his own, to track the raiders and bring his family back home . . . before it’s too late.
In Their Own Words: Sitting Bull tells the exciting story of Sitting Bull's life using real drawings, letters, and speeches from him and from his friends and family.A warrior I have been. / Now, it is all over. / A hard time I have.With these words, Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S. government on July 20, 1881. Sitting Bull spent most of his life trying to protect his people. A proud father and brave warrior, Sitting Bull wanted the Lakota Sioux to continue hunting buffalo and roaming the Plains. Although he lost this battle, Sitting Bull is remembered for his brave actions and notable accomplishments.
Here are the great stories of the Blackfeet, recorded by the famous conservationist and ethnologist, George Bird Grinnell, who became a tribal member in 1885. The Nizitapi, or Real People, as they call each other, were people of the buffalo. They originated on the plains of today’s southern Alberta, western Saskatchewan, and central Montana. Famed frontier artist George Catlin called the Blackfeet “the most
powerful tribe of Indians on the continent.” Like many native people, the Blackfeet have stories and legends that originated centuries ago, perhaps thousands of years ago, and were passed down from generation to generation through an oral tradition.
In a story that is as gripping as it is historical, Newbery Honor-winning author Jean Fritz reveals the true life of Pocahontas. Though at first permitted to move freely between the Indian and the white worlds, Pocahontas was eventually torn between her new life and the culture that shaped her.
Countless herds of majestic buffalo once roamed across the plains and prairies of North America. For at least 10,000 years, the native people hunted the buffalo and depended upon its meat and hide for their survival. But to the Indians, the buffalo was also considered sacred. They saw this abundant, powerful animal as another tribe, one that was closely related to them, and they treated it with great respect and admiration.
"Hidden Roots" focuses on the greater impact that the generations of Abenaki that followed had to deal with. Readers will learn about the loss of identity, history and culture;lack ofself worth and fear that Abenaki people were feeling, and still feel today. Middle grade readers love to see life as "being fair", and will totally understand that life is not fair in this story. This is a book that should be read in every middle school class, so that this history will not be forgotten, and never be repeated.
When Ohkwa'ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid on a neighboring village, he immediately tells his Mohawk elders. He has done the right thing—but he has also made enemies. Grabber and his friends will do anything they can to hurt him, especially during the village-wide game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse). Ohkwa'ri believes in the path of peace, but can peaceful ways work against Grabber's wrath?
Through the eyes of a brave and independent young woman, Scott O'Dell tells of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce, a classic tale of cruelty, betrayal, and heroism.
This powerful account of the tragic defeat of the Nez Perce Indians in 1877 by the United States Army is narrated by Chief Joseph's strong and brave daughter.
When Sound of Running Feet first sees white settlers on Nez Perce land, she vows to fight them. She'll fight all the people trying to steal her people's land and to force them onto a reservation, including the soldiers with their guns.
But if to fight means only to die, never win, is the fight worth it? When will the killing stop?
Before dying, Pyesa, Black Hawk’s father and chief of his people, commanded his son to defend their land from whites, who were trying to force the tribe off their land. Black Hawk, however, has no taste for killing and scalping and goes through great internal conflict. The story of this great-hearted leader shows how some whites and Native Americans were peaceful and kind, while others were not. Based on true events, this powerful book teaches about a difficult time period and shares profound, unique messages about love, faith, mercy, humility, friendship, forgiveness, and faith. Recommended for ages 13-18/Grade 7-12
Jim Keath has lived for six years as a Crow Indian when he learns that his two younger brothers and a sister are journeying west to take up land. Although Jim finds it difficult to fit in with the family he hasn’t seen since childhood, and though they are wary and distrustful of him, Jim feels his duty is at their side. But slowly, as they survive the dangerous trek west, the perils of frontier life, and the kidnapping of their younger brother, Jim and his family realize that the only way to survive is to accept each other and truly reunite the family.
Young hawk lived over 400 years ago, but the civilization of the pueblo indians, already well advanced before any white settlers came into their land, has changed very little since his day.
Captured by her enemies, married to a foreigner, and a mother at age sixteen, Sacajawea lived a life of turmoil and change. Then, in 1804, the mysterious young Shoshone woman met Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Acting as interpreter, peacemaker, and guide, Sacajawea bravely embarked on an epic journey that altered history forever. Hear her extraordinary story, in the voices of Sacajawea and William Clark in alternating chapters, with selections from Clark’s original diaries.
She was named Omakakiins, or Little Frog, because her first step was a hop.
Omakakiins and her family live on an island in Lake Superior. Though there are growing numbers of white people encroaching on their land, life continues much as it always has.
But the satisfying rhythms of their life are shattered when a visitor comes to their lodge one winter night, bringing with him an invisible enemy that will change things forever—but that will eventually lead Omakakiins to discover her calling.
After being taken prisoner by an enemy tribe, a Shoshoni girl escapes and makes a thousand-mile journey through the wilderness to find her own people
Tells of the adventurous life of the Wampanoag Indian,Squanto.
This title teaches readers about the first people to live in the Plains region of North America. It discusses their culture, customs, ways of life, interactions with other settlers, and their lives today.
5 Arrowhead Facts
First, look at some of these facts about arrowheads.
- Arrowheads were mainly created from flint, obsidian, or chert. But ones made from bone, wood, and metal have also been found.
- Arrowheads were used as weapons and tools. They were attached to a spear shaft, an atlatl shaft, an arrow, or a knife handle.
- Handcrafted arrowheads were used to hunt, fish, and fight battles.
- Arrowheads come in various shapes, sizes, and materials depending on the tribe that made them. Their uniqueness provides a glimpse into the history and traditions of different Native American groups.
- Native Americans might spend hours looking for just the right material and make their arrowheads using a chipping process called flint knapping.
Flint Knapping – How Were Arrowheads Made
First, a piece of flint (or other stone) was chosen.
The large piece was cut down in size by blows to the edge with a piece of hard stone.
This is called percussion chipping and was done repeatedly until the piece was thinned down and shaped.
The most common stones used to make arrowheads were:
- Basalt
- Flint
- Quartzite
- Jasper
- Quartz
- Chalcedony
- Petrified wood
- Agate
- Obsidian
- Chert
The piece was then pressure chipped using a sharp deer or elk antler to get it detailed into the right shape, size, and sharpness desired.
The final step was called notching.
Notches were made in the arrowhead by using a combination of pressure flaking and abrading or grinding.
This way they could create the gaps, or notches, that the Native Americans would use to attach the arrowhead to the shaft of the arrow.
Points were then attached to the arrow shaft with a variety of different methods. Usually, the arrow shaft would have a slit cut into the end to accept the point.
Sinew would then be wrapped around the shaft to pinch the slit closed. Points could also be hafted directly by wrapping the strong sinew around the point and the arrow shaft to bind them together.
The shafts of the arrows were made from strong shoots like dogwood, wild rose, ash, birch, chokecherry, and black locust trees.
If you haven’t been lucky enough to find an arrowhead on your own, you can purchase some replicas to have a closer look and add to your unit.
Next look at these 13 easy Native American crafts.
13 Easy Native American Crafts
Dig into more aspects of native American life by creating several hands-on crafts beyond arrowheads like canoes, jewelry, drums, and even simple games they would have enjoyed.
- Make a simple Shawnee Birchbark Canoe with a few basic craft items.
- Making Talking Sticks with Kids is not only creative but it’s a great study in history and social studies.
- Create an easy and Fun Corn Craft to use as decoration while your child learns about Indian corn.
- I love this handicraft idea for making a Native American Indian Medicine Bag for Kids.
- Make this cool Iroquois Bracelet.
- Watch this video that demonstrates Making a Bear Claw Necklace for a fantastic hands-on idea.
- Recreate a Cradleboard Craft that fits perfectly on small dolls. It demonstrates how babies were carried for long journeys, hunting trips, and throughout a busy day.
- These little Popsicle Stick Bow and Arrows are just adorable (and pretty harmless as well).
- Grab some air-dry clay and paint and create a little Native American Crafts for Kindergarten How to Make a Kids Pinch Pot .
- Learn How to Make a Longhouse Out of Popsicle Sticks, an important part of Native American life.
- Native American Stick Game.
- Easy Native American Spin Drum Craft for Kids. Spin drums were found in the Southwest tribes of the U.S.
- Build a Wigwam like the Algonquin and other tribes would have lived in.
Finally, look how to make a cool Native American arrowhead.
Make a Cool Arrowhead
You will need:
- Air dry clay
- Rock
- Wooden craft stick
- Leather cord
First, give your child a feel of how it would’ve been for the Native Americans to carve an arrowhead.
Give your child an uneven blob of clay as if they had been searching for just the right rock.
Obviously, the clay is soft and moldable unlike the hard flint that they would’ve been made of.
However, we can still try to give them as much of the experience as possible.
Next, use a craft stick or clay knife to form the basic shape of an arrowhead.
We can still use the rock to simulate the motion of carving the arrowhead into a piece of flint.
It also helps give the clay a little more texture like a real one would have.
Continue shaping until satisfied with the design as well as thickness.
Allow the clay to dry completely for 24 to 48 hours depending on how thick your arrowhead is.
Once it’s completely dry, you can leave it as is or paint it a dark gray or black and let that paint dry.
Leave it as is, so it looks like an artifact that was just picked up.
In addition, you can wrap cording around it a few times, knot it off, and then tie the end into a necklace to wear.
