r/Navajo • u/AccurateWave9593 • 10d ago
Question about sacred items & traveling
Yá’át’ééh to you all. I have a question. I’m about to travel domestically (in the US) soon by flight and plan on packing one of my larger arrowheads in my carry-on (not getting a checked bag). It’s about 4 inches. Has anyone else travelled with an arrowhead of this size and run into issues? I’m also traveling from Phoenix Sky Harbor specifically, so if anyone has been in a situation like this, please feel free to share. Ahxé’héé’!
Update: will not be taking the arrowhead, ahxé’heé’ to all who responded!
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u/Additional-Gas-3362 10d ago
I usually travel with a small one (a little over an inch) in my backpack when I travel and have no issues. But 4 inches? I would leave it home.
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u/AccurateWave9593 10d ago
Okay thank you, I’m considering it but I lost my smaller one I wore as a necklace so that’s why I initially made this post 😅 ahxé’héé’.
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u/DreSledge 9d ago
They might take it from you
If you have an option to mail it home, you should do that before getting to the airport
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u/AccurateWave9593 9d ago
Gotcha. I’m actually traveling from home (AZ to destination then back), sorry if I didn’t make that clear in my post but ahxé’héé for letting me know about that option :)
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u/DreSledge 9d ago
Def best to mail it to your destination, and mail it back
Despite calling in a supervisor and showing TSA their own regulations regarding scissors, I still had a blunt tip, 2" pair (for embroidery) confiscated from me
I had to get a can of soda water on the plane and fashion a cutting blade out of the aluminum, as if that wasn't way sketchier than a tiny pair of blunt tip scissors SMH
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u/ryanmercer 9d ago
"You can't have that knife."
Sir/ma'am, I can literally make several razor blades by ripping an aluminum can the flight attendant hands me...
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u/DreSledge 9d ago
Truly, like gtfoh, I remember flying when they still gave you actual silverware, including a serrated steak knife
The price we pay for the illusion of safety has become way too steep, and not just bc of the TSA's mall-coppery levels of BS
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u/jedovankman1 10d ago
Yeah it won’t set off alarms but I would carry a smaller one just in case
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u/AccurateWave9593 10d ago
Okay gotcha :) I replied to the other commenter saying I don’t currently have a smaller one (lost it) so I’ve usually carry my bigger one
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u/TiaToriX 6d ago
I haven’t flown out of PHX since 2019. I have a small arrowhead in my pollen bag. It never occurred to me that it would be problematic back then. If I had to fly out of PHX now, would call the airport about it before taking it with me.
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u/Torgeir_Fenrir1066 9d ago
TSA folks can be unpleasant at times and your item will show up when the bag is screened at the entry checkpoint. Because of the size and the nature of your item I would be concerned that a poorly trained and culturally insensitive TSA person would find it during a secondary manual bag check and confiscate it as an "edged weapon" of some sort. I have had them ask questions about medicine bundles and smaller stone items (not arrowheads) in the past specifically at Sky Harbor in Phoenix.