Historically, the term "peckerwood" was commonly applied to white prisoners in general.
[6] The cemetery at
Leavenworth Penitentiary, officially known as Mount Hope, is informally known as "Peckerwood Hill" by prisoners and guards.
[9] In the later half of the 20th century the term narrowed to apply to a white
subculture associated with street gangs and prison gangs, such as the
Aryan Brotherhood. This subculture is also known as PW, P-Dub, or collectively as "the Woodpile".
[6][10] Men in this group are called "peckerwoods" and women "featherwoods". The
woodpecker is often used as a general symbol for the group, such as in
prison tattoos.
[6] It is usually drawn with a long beak, sometimes drawn to resemble
Woody Woodpecker or
Mr. Horsepower.
[11][12] Sometimes the letters "PW" or "APW" (Peckerwood and American Peckerwood) are used.
[6]
The term is also used for entry-level recruits of the Aryan Brotherhood.
[13] Within the prison system, peckerwoods may advance in the social hierarchy and become formal members of the gang, or similar gangs such as the
Nazi Lowriders. Becoming a higher-ranking member involves the act of committing more and more serious crimes.
[13][14] Peckerwood is also used by some prison systems as a generic name for any white supremacist threat group, which has sometimes been a source of confusion.
[1] In and out of prison, the peckerwood subculture is most common in
California,
Texas and the U.S.
south and
southwest, but less in the
midwest and
northeast.
[6][1]
Much of the peckerwood prison subculture had its beginnings in the desegregation of United States prisons. Aryan Brotherhood had its beginnings in the
San Quentin State Prison in 1964 as a response to the newly formed black prison gang
Black Guerilla Family.
[1][15][16] The San Quentin State Aryan Brotherhood uses the gang Family Affiliated Irish Mafia (FAIM) for its street operated activity.
[17] The Aryan Brotherhood of Texas was formed in the 80s after the dismantling of the "
building tender" system in which groups were segregated. ABT originally formed as a hybrid of the two gangs Aryan Society and Aryan Brothers.
In 1985, the
Aryan Circle formed out of peckerwoods who didn't join the newly formed Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. Aryan Circle members believed ABT didn't truly stand for white supremacy. Fronted by Mark "Cowboy" Gaspard, the group was originally called Aryan Christians but changed its name due to members' varying beliefs.
[18][19] A group known as the "International Peckerwood Syndicate" has been listed by in the
Oregon Department of Justice as operating in Oregon prisons. According to the
ADL, the group, also known as the "Insane Peckerwood Syndicate", formed in 2005 and also has a presence in Washington State.
[1][20] Other prison gangs using the term "peckerwood" as part of their name have been documented in
Connecticut,
Minnesota,
Missouri,
Nebraska,
Nevada,
New Mexico.
[1]
