Arrow straightener featuring an animal head design

Once again, this is a fine example of a utilitarian object whose form and decoration conceal not only its function but also its meaning.

This ivory straightener is shaped to fit perfectly in the hand, where it can be held to pull the shafts and fletching of wooden arrows through the square hole cut into the animal’s side, in order to form a perfectly straight shaft.

This process is similar to sharpening a steel blade with a whetstone, with each movement realigning the blade’s molecular particles. By making repetitive movements of pushing and pulling the arrow shafts through the straightening tool, the hunter focuses his attention on his tasks, perhaps even using the bear (or caribou) model to connect with the actual animal.

This tool serves as an amulet, a doll, and a training aid. Its square hole is located in the center of the animal’s belly, where the hunter would aim. This hole also evokes the joint marks found on many other animal depictions; these marks symbolize the animal’s spiritual significance and are considered a channel through which the spirits of life pass.

This arrow straightener is decorated on one side with an engraved pictogram depicting a caribou hunt.

A very similar model is on display at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (Inv. 83.1188). See photo.