Wampum

The white whelk shell is a symbol of power and peace and all the good things, and the purple or black quahog clam shell is just the opposite. “I thought it ironic that in the ocean,” said Hill, “these two are kind of enemies of each other… but the whelk can actually defeat the quahog clam. So the white shell can overcome the purple shell in the ocean and maybe that’s what our ancestors believed.” –Rick Hill 2014

What is Wampum??

“Wampum is just a visual device by which memory is kept alive,” Hill said. “Our ancestors were very skilled in how to make these abstract symbols that have great meaning, great power. We also believe that wampum has its own power.”-Rick Hill

• The white whelk shell is a symbol of power and peace and all the good things.
• The purple or black quahog clam shell is just the opposite.

“I thought it ironic that in the ocean,” said Hill, “these two are kind of enemies of each other… but the whelk (white) can actually defeat the quahog clam (purple). So the white shell can overcome the purple shell in the ocean and maybe that’s what our ancestors believed.” –Rick Hill 2014

Samples of Wampum Belts

Overview of Wampums

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The Two Row Wampum

The Purple & White Shells

• The Quahog Clam, has a distinctive shell that yields the purple beads.

• Various Whelk species have been used to create the white wampum

What the belts are made of....

Quahog (pronounced kwaw-hog)-Purple Shells

Whelk-White Shells

Most commonly made from the Quahog, a round clam shell, the word wampum comes from the Algonquin term for the shells. While it is called Ote-ko-a in the Seneca language, wampum is the most widely recognized term.

The Purpose of the Wampum

Iroquois Chiefs from the Six Nations Reserve reading Wampum belts. (Note: among those pictured are Sir William Johnson's descendants through Mary Brant, sister of Joseph Brant. They are possibly examining the Niagara Treaty belts.)

The use of wampum beads has been much debated throughout the years with many claiming that Aboriginal people used the beads as currency. Contrary to misconceptions, wampum was not "indian money."

For the Haudenosaunee & the Anishnaabe, wampum held a more sacred use. Wampum served as a person’s credentials or a certificate of authority.

Wampum was also used for storytelling, ceremonial gifts, and the recording of important treaties and historical events.

• As a method of recording and an aid in narrating, Haudenosaunee & Anishinaabe warriors with exceptional skills were provided training in interpreting the wampum belts.

• As the Keepers of the Central Fire the Onondaga Nation was also trusted with the task of keeping all wampum records.

• To this day wampum is still used in the ceremony of raising up a new chief and in the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving ceremonies. True wampum is scarce today and only wampum strings are used.

• Many belts have been lost or are in museums to this day.

The Two Row Wampum

“Together we will travel in Friendship and in Peace Forever; as long as the grass is green, as long as the water runs downhill, as long as the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, and as long as our Mother Earth will last.”

In 1613, the Mohawks noticed people coming into their territory unannounced. The visitors had begun to cut trees and clear land for their homes and farms. They had entered the lands of the Haudenosaunee and were now occupying some of their empty rooms (land).

As the Haudenosaunee and Dutch discovered much about each other, an agreement was made as to how they were to treat each other and live together.

Each of their ways would be shown in the purple rows running the length of a wampum belt.

“In one row is a ship with our White Brothers’ ways; in the other a canoe with our ways. Each will travel down the river of life side by side. Neither will attempt to steer the other’s vessel.”

For more information on Wampum and Treaties please watch Video with Mr. Rick Hill:

http://www.c-span.org/video/?321414-2/discussion-usnative-american-treaties

• The Haudenosaunee made a belt to record this agreement. The belt has two purple rows running alongside each other representing two boats.
• Between the two rows of Purple beads, are three rows of white beads. These were made to stand for the Friendship, Peace and Respect between the two nations. As much as the three rows keep the two nations separate, it also binds them together.
• The background of white Beads was meant to symbolize the purity of the agreement and some say that is represents the "River of Life".