Traditional Eníkahkʷak (spear) on Display at the NCTC Museum

Penobscot artist Jason Pardilla was commissioned to make this traditional eníkahkʷak  (pronounced: enny gawk') for the National Conservation Training Center in 2022. Mr. Pardilla created the eníkahkʷak according to Penobscot traditional ways; the 10-foot-long shaft is of black spruce, the trident is ash, and the lashing material is black spruce root. Mr. Pardilla collected all of these materials on Penobscot Nation lands in Maine. The spearpoint is the only exception—Mr. Pardilla used a modern material that resembles bone rather than fashioning it from a swordfish’s rostral bone (the fish’s “spear”) as the Ancestors did.

Mr. Pardilla’s eníkahkʷak will be featured in Welcome to Turtle Island, the initial exhibit that visitors will encounter at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Museum at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Story Tags

American Indians
Exhibits
History
Indigenous species

Recreational Activities