Central States Archaeological Societies
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Wisconsin, Joseph Jourdain, and His Pipe Tomahawks

by Jake John Ilko, Jr.

Central States Archaeological Societies 2023 October Journal
Delafield, Wisconsin
 

 

This excerpt from "Wisconsin, Joseph Jourdain, and His Pipe Tomahawks" published in the 2023 Central States Archaeological Societies 2023 October Journal

Read the complete column in the Central States Archaeological Societies 2023 October Journal which can be purchased on-line after March 2024

Wisconsin, Joseph Jourdain, and His Pipe Tomahawks
Figure 1. The pipe tomahawk. It measues 6 11/16” in length and is 2 3/4” wide at the bit. Bottom view shows tally marks. Photography - Gene Hynek

 

 

On January 2,1803, Joseph married the granddaughter of the Menominee chief, L' Espagnol, ensuring a strong trading bond with the local Menominee Tribe. This union begot eight children with two of his sons, Thomas, the eldest, and William becoming blacksmiths, with Thomas often working with his father, as an assistant.After working for Mr. Franks for several years and also for himself for several years, he began a career with the British Detachment (Neenah Historical Society, 29:44). While researching, I encountered two different salaries in the year 1832 while Jourdain was employed at the US Government Trading Factory, listing his salary at $360 a year (Nelson and Hanson, p. 10). In contradiction, Jourdain’s descendants, speaking in the Neenah Historical Society You Tube presentation at the time, 29:58, state his salary was $480. In 1835, Jourdain was chosen, due to his prowess and legendary skills at his anvil, to become the blacksmith for the Winnebago Rapids Settlement Program for the US Government at a salary of $480 per year with housing included. (Neenah Historical Society, time, 34:00). He prospered there until his death in 1868. A list of payments by the US Government Sub Agency at Green Bay made to Joseph Jourdain and, on occasion to his son, Thomas, may be found in the University of Oklahoma article, “Letters from the Second Auditor of the Treasury, transmitting statements of the disbursements of money, goods, or effects for the benefit of the Indians, during the year ending the 30th of September, 1840.” Jourdain, with his close association to the Menominee Tribe, signed their September 3, 1836 Treaty (Tribal Treaties Database).

Numerous accolades exist to the prowess, excellence, and superb ability of Jourdain and his skills upon his anvil. “This celebrated smith was a genius at the anvil, and made all the frontier hardware, repaired the guns, and fabricated the tomahawk pipes which now {1907} sell for $25.00” (Nelson and Hanson, p.10). The highly regarded Milford Chandler, an early and extraordinary collector and scholar of Native American culture amassed a very noteworthy collection of native artifacts and goods, stated unequivocally that Jourdain was “the best-known tomahawk maker in America,...” (Nelson and Hanson, p.12.). Carl P. Russell, the frontier artist, spoke very highly of Jourdain's skills in the forge and wrote, ''....Joseph Jourdain, Green Bay, Wisconsin was one of these....His most excellent pipe tomahawks, often marked with an inlaid crescent in copper, won him wide recognition" (Nelson and Hanson, p.14). Further, speaking of Jourdain.....''His pipe hawks became the most sought out of the several kinds of pipe hawks available at the time and his works were traded throughout central Wisconsin and eventually found their way from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean and up into Canada''
(AAA Native Arts.com).

The Sioux scholar and noted pipe tomahawk historian and author, Mark Francis, notes in his book, ''Jourdain's pipe tomahawks command top attention from tomahawk collectors, as there are but a small handful in circulation in any private collections or museums and authentic Jourdain pieces rarely come up for sale.Jourdain's pipe tomahawks have a specific, identifiable art style that can only be attributed to him" (Francis, 2022, p.39). As previously noted, Jourdain's pipe tomahawks are ...