I was the happiest kid in the world at that moment.” I put that arrow on that bowstring and pulled it back and let it go and sent it all the way through that box. “I was nine years old and I set up a big box and pretended that box was a buffalo. Smith made his first bow in 1984, at age nine. That is when his grandfather, Austin Dennis, began teaching him the art of bow-making. Smith started whittling on pieces of Bois ‘darc, he said, when he was only six. After many of those long days, he would take his work home, often fletching the arrows with turkey feathers and animal sinew long into the night. He and his apprentice worked 10 to 12 hours a day making bows of Bois d’arc and black locust and arrows of dogwood for the project. Smith was prepared because he cuts wood year round and had a stockpile of bow staves to work with. Working with assistant property master Michelle Hendriksen, he eventually sent 37 bows and 300 arrows to be used in the film.
THE REVENANT SCREENIT MOVIE
“I received an email one day – I wasn’t sure if it was legit or not, but it said, ‘hey, we’re making a movie and we would like buy a bow and arrow from you to see it as a prototype.’”Īfter some discussion, he sent a bow and arrow representing the type used by the Arikara people in the 1820s. That eventually led to the request to supply bows and arrows for “The Revenant.” Initially, he was somewhat skeptical. Since then, he has shipped bows to 50 states and 26 countries around the world.
THE REVENANT SCREENIT FULL
The orders grew and he began making bows and arrows full time. “But after I started making them, people would see my work and say, ‘I would like to have something like that, or my dad would like that.’ Then word kind of spread around so I started a website years and years ago.” “And it was never my goal to make bows for people. “It’s never been my goal to make bows and arrows for Hollywood,” he said. Smith enjoys working on the film projects, but he didn’t seek the jobs. Soon after that project began, he received a request to make bows and arrows for the upcoming HBO series, “Lewis and Clark.” Animal sinew and turkey feathers were used for the fletching. He used dogwood for the arrows and pre-1900 barrel hoops for the points. Smith crafted the bows from Osage orange and black locust wood. In his quest for historical accuracy, Mr. “I had to respect this project because they were wanting to represent Native people accurately by using the right equipment, the right tools.” “What impressed me about the whole experience was they wanted everything to be historically accurate,” Mr. The makers of “The Revenant,” he said, showed more respect for Native American culture. That filmmaker, he said, didn’t understand his commitment to authenticity. He said he had turned down a previous request from a filmmaker. “The Revenant” marks the first time he has contributed to a major motion picture. The bowyer has been making Native American style bows and arrows for more than 30 years, shipping them to collectors, galleries and museums all over the world.
“It is gratifying to know that Eric Smith is practicing the craft he learned from his grandfather and passing that knowledge on to others.” “Bow making is an essential part of Chickasaw culture that has been passed down from generation to generation for centuries,” Gov. Smith was helping revitalize an important part of Chickasaw culture. Smith, of Lawton, Okla., also made the bows the warriors carry during several subsequent appearances in the film. Smith made the arrows that slam into the fur traders’ camp as the Arikara warriors launch their violent attack. This article appeared in the April 2016 edition of the Chickasaw TimesĬhickasaw bowyer Eric Smith’s work makes a dramatic appearance very early in the Academy Award-winning movie, “The Revenant.” You won’t see Mr. Chickasaw bowyer’s art featured in ‘The Revenant’ CONTRIBUTED BY Tony Choate, Media Relations.
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