An Axe of War

Got to go tomahawk Kaiser Bill!” These words from the WWI ditty about fighting against Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Germany, sung as an American Indian by white songster Billy Murray, speak volumes about the tomahawk, one of the most iconic weapons of Indians. The word “tomahawk,” sometimes simply called a “hawk,” was introduced into the English language during the 17th century. It is derived from the Powhatan Algonquian word “tamahaac,” which, in turn, comes from the Proto-Algo