This hand-to hand fighting club with a burl ball, brass tacks, and steel spike attached to the end originally belonged to an Ojibwa warrior from the Great Lakes region. The territory of the Ojibwa, an Anishinaabe people, extends from Canada (Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) to the northern Midwestern United States (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota). These people are also known as: Ojibwe, Chippewa, Saulteaux, Anishinaabe, Ojibweg, Algonquian, and as members of the Council of Three Fires. Like many clubs of this nature, this object is a political symbol that signifies the authority and prominent status of its owner. The club is distinguished by its elaborate incised decoration, most notably, the depiction of a winged thunderbird with splayed claws near the ball end of the club. Ojibwa artists frequently represented thunderbirds with jagged zigzag lines to evoke the powerful thunder and lightning they generate. This decoration is further enhanced with red vermillion paint - a rare survival. In addition, the abstract tally marks on the textured haft record the number of enemies the warrior vanquished with this club, and suggest his prowess on the battlefield. Two small holes, one near the top of the ball and one below where the hand would have held the haft indicate that other materials, such as feather or human scalps, were at one time suspended from the object.

This artwork will have a transformative impact on the MFA's Native American collections and help to expand and diversify both the range of communities and the type of object we represent at the museum. There are no war clubs in the collection, and only a handful of objects associated with the Ojibwe community: five postcard images of Ojibwa people and one object (a tea caddy) made by an Ojibwe artist.

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