Wampum

The shells are polished and then drilled through the center to create the beads. Creating each individual bead was a difficult and time consuming process.

Wampum is a shell bead important in the cultures of the Native Peoples of the Eastern United States and Canada. The beads are purple, white, or black. The purple and black beads are made from the shells of the quahog (also known as the hard clam). These colors appear only on the edges of the clam shell, so they are rare and therefore, more valuable. The white beads are made from the quahog or whelk shell. Because each individual wampum bead was so difficult to make, they were a valuable trade item.

A whelk shell.

The inside of a hard clam or quahog shell.

Wampum beads were arranged and strung together in intricate patterns and designs that typically served as a visual memory keeper recording important messages, agreements, and historical events. These beautiful creations came to be known as wampum belts in English, though they typically were not worn in the same way we think of belts today.

The use of wampum belts used to be thought of as something belonging only to the Haudenosaunee and Wampanoag people, but historians now believe it was far more widespread that previously thought. There is now evidence of a wampum tradition amongst the Ojibway, Odawa and Potawatomi people.

Examples of wampum belts

The Hiawatha wampum belt. No one knows exactly when it was made, but definitely before the first Europeans arrived in the New World in the early 1500s. Some Native people believe it is 1,000 years old.

Arguably the most famous wampum belt is the Hiawatha belt made to tell the story of the creation of the Haudenosaunee nation (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy or just the five nations). The Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk people warred for a very long time. When they decided to join together in peace, the Hiawatha wampum belt was created to record the event. 

The box on the far left stands for the Mohawk who were the first to join, then the Oneida. The central figure is a white pine, the tree of peace, where the warring nations buried their weapons. It symbolizes the Onondaga. Next is the Cayuga, and then the Seneca. Note that they are all joined together. This was a reminder to maintain the peace.

The notation written on the above photo said it was recording an alliance between the Mohawk and the French, but later historians disagreed.

The Wolf Treaty belt represents the alliance of the Seven Nations (an alliance of seven Native communities in what is now Canada) and the English. The figures in the center represent King George I and a Native person joining hands in peace. The wolves were there to protect the peace path. Note the seven dark lines by each wolf. These purple lines represented the Seven Nations.

In 1890, this was written about the belt: "One wampum, now owned by Margaret Cook, the aged aunt of Running Deer, represents the treaty of George I with the Seven Nations. The king and the head chief are represented with joined hands, while on each side is a dog, watchful of danger, and the emblem is supposed to be the pledge: 'We will live together or die together. We promise this as long as water runs, skies do shine, and night brings rest.'"


You can find photos and stories of more wampum belts at the Onondaga Nation website: https://www.onondaganation.org/culture/wampum/

Anishinabek Nation. “What Are Wampum Belts?” YouTube, 23 June 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95PojatWRdc.
Bonaparte, Darren. The Wolf Belt. http://www.wampumchronicles.com/wolfbelt.html. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024
“Hiawatha Belt.” Onondaga Nation, 18 June 2014, https://www.onondaganation.org/culture/wampum/hiawatha-belt/.
Historica Canada. “Richard Hill.” YouTube, 2 June 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ckxi7rjGac&t=717s.
Nahwegahbow Windspeaker, Barb. “Wampum Holds Power of Earliest Agreements.” Ammsa.Com, 2014, https://web.archive.org/web/20190228192256/https://ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/wampum-holds-power-earliest-agreements#sthash.Bv7JG8PF.dpuf.
“Wampum.” Onondaga Nation, 18 Feb. 2014, https://www.onondaganation.org/culture/wampum/.
“Wampum Belt.” Plimoth Patuxet Museums, 30 Aug. 2023, https://plimoth.org/yath/unit-2/wampum-belt.