Spiritual Side of Archery

My interest in primitive archery was almost started when I was in mid school. I was browsing some library shelves of my school and happened upon a “golden pocket book” about Native American crafts and what not. I gravitated to the section of weapons automatically as is the case with me. What interested me most were the bows that were sinew backed. I went home, and not being too serious about figuring out what made a bow work, I found an already arched stick that was very dry and hard. I twisted a bunch of rubberbands together to make for a longer and much more powerful band. With this tied to the stick at both ends, I shot some store bought wooden arrows with great velocity and great joy. The thing quickly broke and that was that,…until I was in college. 10 years ago(1998), I was a sophmore in college and had a calc class that was very difficult for me. It was however my favorite class at the time because I got to sit and talk to quite a beautiful girl named Myla. I didn’t get the nerve to actually sit and talk to her until toward the end of the term(short summer term it was), and when we did talk, I wasn’t able to ask her out before the term was over. I quickly found out that she worked at a local Borders book store and so I want there to finaly say what I always wanted to say to her. She worked at an info desk and so I found a shelf of books nearby so that as I gazed at the books, I wanted to gaze over and catch her glance in order to give her a smile, a smile which would help me walk up to her to ask her on a date. The shelf of books I was pretending to look at was full books on subjects about Native Americans. Most of the books were politcal and being very sympathetic to the causes knowing know much of it already growing up in Gallup, I was not that big into politics of any sort at that time and I was hoping that the shelf had more interesting things on it while I awaited for her arival at her desk back from helping a customer. I love all history, especially American frontier history, and It then dawned on me how interested, though fleetingly I was in Native archery when I was in mid school. I was hoping there might be at least one or two books that had archery in them. As for Myla, it didn’t work out, but I was very delighted to find Jimm Hamm’s first encyclopedia-on bows, arrows and quivers-of the east and southeast US tribes. I was blown away-an entire book just on Native American Bows! later I picked up his 2nd installment, bows arrows and quivers of the plains and southwest! I am most fascinated with the plains and northwest plateau tribes and this book got me hooked for life. Reginald Laubin’s book was the next book I picked up, to actually learn how to build an American Indian plains type bow. Though I had these fine books, it wasn’t untill 5 years later that I actually decided to get started with my first bow, a Nez Perce type bow. It actually had taken me longer to get started due to the fact that I choose to make the bow out of pacific yew rather than a more common bow wood locally found in New Mexico, such as hickory from a neighbor’s cut branch or something. But yes I admit that now I am hooked on primitve bows, atlatls and overall, primitive living. It may have been galvinized even more after September 11, 2001. This event occured around the time I was on the lookout for yew. At that time I wasn’t aware that yew staves could be purchased online. I don’t think for me it was entirely 9/11 that got me thinking about primitve hunter/gathering living and self sufficiency. I have always loved the stories about the mountain men who roamed the rockies as well as the southwest. I especially loved tails of the different tribes. I also have recently become very interested in the history of my people, the Frisian tribe as I am Frisian, as well as other German and Scandinavian tribes. I have a desire to build an ancient germanic style longbow and learn to hunt with it with flint and iron. I now feel that the “rat race” is not a true way of life. It is not a bad way of life, but it is not as rewarding as everyone makes it out to be. So as of now, I am truly torn between working, as well as being back in school for a better career, and the idea of making it on my own without having to purchase everything for my survival. The life purchased by the “whiteman’s frogskins” is indead a lot safer and secure than a life created by directly supplying one’s self with food, water, clothing, and shelter by ones own hands. The primitive way of life retreating away from modern life, deffinately is not without danger, but I truly feel it is much more rewarding and free, and without all the fast-paced stress. I am torn, but it is as though I already know what I should do.