Akime! O’odham Oos:hikbina (calendar stick) Kept by Joseph Head

This stick made of saguaro cactus wood is a calendar stick titled “Akime! O’odham Oos:hikbina” and was found in Arizona, dating back to circa 1833-1921. ‘Oos:hikbina’ was translated by the Akimel O’ odham (River People) as “stick cut upon” and was used to keep oral histories alive using etchings and various symbols. One side of the stick was kept flat to ensure easy etchings of dots, small notches, V-shaped cuts, and deep straight lines to represent years. The symbols on the stick were often painted with blue soot and red clay. This Oos:hikbina records events dating back to 1833, from battles to natural phenomena to European influences like the building of the railroad in 1886. This stick documented important parts of history for the Akimel O’ odham, which gives historians a means to analyze and record parts of Native American history that are unknown to the public. A common misperception is that the natives are a savage group of people without any language or written form of communication; however, this stick – although seemingly useless – actually gives insight into the world of the Native Americans and shows that many of the tribes were organized and sophisticated enough to document important events.