The Sheldon Jackson Museum July artifact of the month is an Inupiaq miniature crossbow with two miniature spears (SJ-II-E-76). Sheldon Jackson collected the bow and projectile points from King Island (Ugiuvak in the Iñupiaq language) in 1893. The set was likely used as a toy or a tool for teaching children about hunting small animals such as birds.
The crossbow is formed from three pieces of wood, likely driftwood, metal pieces, metal tacks, sinew, and twine. Two small spears are attached. They measure 4 ½” in length and the spear points are made from very small repurposed metal tacks. The top part of the crossbow's stock is painted black, and the rest is stained reddish brown. The sinew string does not extend back to the trigger since it has little give.
The earliest archaeological evidence of a crossbow dates to 650 B.C. in China. The weapon may have originated in Asia and may have been an ancient Inuit hunting tool. Historically, indigenous Alaskans have more commonly used the larger traditional bow or sinew backed bow. Crossbows required far less skill and practice than the typical larger bows and were not necessarily customized to the user’s arm dimensions (fingertip to fingertip of outstretched arms). Larger bows were common for shooting birds and fish in some areas of northwestern Alaska and between the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. According to Edward Nelson, large bows backed with sinew were used with greater frequency between the lower Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers than anywhere else in Alaska.
Ugiuvak was traditionally inhabited by the Inupiat who called themselves Ugiuvaŋmiut. The island was once well known for its cliffside dwellings; Qaitquq, a cold long-term food storage cave; and the hunters, ivory carvers, and dancers who lived there. It was a prime location for harvesting seals and walrus. The Ugiuvaŋmiut supplemented their diet of sea mammals with birds, seabird eggs, local greens, salmon, halibut, shellfish, caribou and berries. The latter two staples were hunted and collected by residents who would travel to the mainland by qayaq and umiaq for a few months every summer.
There are no residents on Ugiuvaŋmiut today. People still practice subsistence there, and a strong cultural connection to the place remains among the descendants of former inhabitants. Ugiuvaŋmiut’s population declined largely due to the forced relocation of residents to Nome (Sitŋasuaq in the Iñupiaq language) in 1958 when the Bureau of Indian Affairs closed its school there. Accelerating tuberculosis cases and a subsequent need for healthcare also led residents to leave. By 1966, Ugiuvaŋmiut were no longer living on the island. According to the King Island Native Community, an organization representing King Islanders, former residents still visit Ugiuvaŋmiut in the spring and summer months to hunt walrus, pursue other subsistence activities, and maintain dwellings.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum cares for three Inupiaq crossbows. Visit the museum to see the crossbows and July artifact of the month. Summer hours are Monday–Friday, 9:30 am–4:30 pm, except holidays. Admission is $9, $8 for seniors, and free for ages 18 and under and active military and their families.
Loades. Mike. The Crossbow. (New York, New York: Osprey Publishing, 2018.
Nelson, Edward W. The Eskimo about Bering Strait. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1983.
“King Island Native Community.” King Island Native Community. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.kingislandnativecommunity.org/
“Kawerak Inc.” Kawerak. Accessed July 15, 2025. https://kawerak.org/our-region/king-island/
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