Totem poles are one example of the intricate carvings of Native Americans.
Indians carved wood, goat and sheep horns, antlers, bone, gold, silver and stones into totem poles, canoes, jewelry, sculptures, pipes, flutes, dance sticks, war clubs, house posts, bowls, utensils and storage boxes. Carved artwork was often of animals such as bears, buffaloes, eagles and horses. Native Americans used a variety of tools that they crafted out of bone, antlers or stone. In some cases tools were made from hammered copper.
Adzes
Adzes, like axe heads, were made by grinding hard stone to the proper shape and a sharp edge. An adz had a short handle and was used to shape a form or to trim or smooth a log. This tool was often used to hollow out canoes. Adzes were made in different sizes.
Chisels/Awls
The Iroquois were particularly skillful at making carving tools from antlers or bones, utilizing the natural shapes of the materials. Chisels and awls were made by grinding the end of the tool to a very sharp edge or point. Awls were used to poke holes in leather or bark. They used chisels to pull the bark off of logs or trees.
Flint
Flint is a hard quartz stone that can be chipped to form a sharp edge. In addition to being used for arrow points and knife blades, flint was used for making scrapers and drills. After creating a flint blade, the craftsman would attach a handle. Flint tools were made in a variety of sizes, often to be used for carvings on small sculptures and stone beads. They could be used on stone or metal.
Drills
Drills, made from stone, were used for many purposes such as making weapons, but also for their crafts. Much like an awl, a drill would make holes in an object, but the artisan would rotate the tool by hand. Since the drills were made from stone, rather than bone or antler, they were more effective with thicker objects. For example, a drill might make the holes in a wooden flute.
Carvings
The carvings of the Tlingit people, known as the Northwest Coast Indian style, are widely accepted and prized art. They carved masks, rattles and staffs for rituals. Dividing screens, used to separate spaces in a house, were decoratively carved and many times included a family crest. Totems were carved to identify a family story, a legend of the clan, memorials for a deceased loved one or to signify a special event. South Dakota Tourism and State Development indicates that the carvings of animal and human forms appeared much earlier than they did in the Native American beadwork, paintings and quillwork.
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