On top of hunting and farming, the Natives also helped us create
this beloved cliché. To “bury the hatchet” means to create
peace. The thought is that when hostilities are no longer
needed, weapons, like the hatchet, can be disposed of as well.
When negotiating peace, the North American Indians would
actually practice what we preach. They buried all of their
weapons-their scalping knives, clubs, tomahawks-into the ground.
Apart of just showing good faith, this would also make it
impossible for the fighting to continue. Thus came the popular
expression; burying the hatchet. However nowadays, the idea of
“burying” the hatchet seems counter-intuitive to most people,
they would rather dig up the old ones.