Stone Projectile Point

Stone Projectile Point

Patrick Finnigan

This spearhead is symbolic of the history of IUSB in that it is a tool through which an inhabitant of this area once worked tirelessly at both making, then using to improve his ability to provide.

Called a "Snyder's Point," this spearhead was once a chert rock until Native American hands diligently shaped and forged it using other rocks, antlers, and even bone. Humans had been crafting stone tools like these for hundreds of thousands of years, passing along the techniques through generations of new hunter/gatherers. This spear point was collected in the "Upper Midwest," and it’s style of production dates to approximately 200BC to 300AD. During this time period, it’s original owners would have been the Miami tribe. One of the original Native American tribes to inhabit the Midwest, the Miami settled throughout much of what is now Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

Young Miami would have had spent hours learning and practicing the meticulous art of stone crafting. Much like students here now, they would have learned art from those who learned before them, as instruction passes down among generations. These spear points then would have served as a tool that they would use both to hunt and to defend themselves; providing for, and securing their future in the way a college degree does now.

Where IUSB now stands would have been an ideal place for a settlement of this powerful tribe that remained here until forcibly removed in the 1800's. The Miami were known to be prolific fur traders. The St. Joseph River valley and surrounding area saw incredible prosperity for trading due not only to the area’s large deer, beaver, and animal populations, but also due to the access to waterways. The St. Joseph River, running directly along IUSB, was a major trading route and shipping artery for hundreds of years. Furs, food, and other supplies reached not only the Miami, but later the Spanish, the English, the French, and Dutch through the river that connected Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan with the Great Lakes. Detroit, South Bend, Elkhart, and many other cities and settlements were either directly on the river, or connected to it via waterways. South Bend was especially important as it marks the southernmost bend in the river, placing it’s course the closest to the Wabash River, another huge trade passageway. There, at this southern bend, traders could portage their boats and connect the two valuable rivers.

I see this parallel with the Miami when I imagine their diligence and their hope for more bountiful hunts and compare it to my own determination and struggles as I strive for a college degree. However, where the Native Americans left artifacts that illuminate history, I am an Anthropology and Archaeology major, and instead search for artifacts that illuminate history. As they learned the art of creating art from those who mastered it, I strive to learn the arts of finding art from my Professors.