Wampum is created from the shell of a clam. The bead is cut from the white and purple parts of the shell. The shell is thought of as a living record. The speaker puts the words of the agreement into the wampum. Each speaker thereafter uses the wampum to remember the initial agreement and the history that has happened to date.
Wampum has many uses. One of the uses is to invite the other nations to meetings. These wampum strings are given the topic that all of the nations are to meet and discuss about. At the end of the wampum string is a wooden stick. The wooden stick tells the people of the nation when the meeting is to take place. As each day passes, a notch is cut off the stick and when the notches are all gone, the meeting will take place.
Wampum also symbolizes titles within the Haudenosaunee. Each position of a Clan Mother of a Chief has their own wampum string. When a person holds this title for the Nation, they carry the wampum to show their place in the community. When a leader falls, the wampum is passed on to the new leader.
When a string of wampum that is held in a person’s hand, they are said to be speaking truthfully. During ceremonies, the wampum strings are used to convey that the speaker’s words are true. People listening to a speaker holding the wampum also know this and are very attentive and respectful of the speaker’s message.
Wampum is very important to the Onondaga and the Haudenosaunee. Therefore when the wampum left the community through the efforts of anthropologists, the Onondaga Nation worked diligently to have the wampum return. In 1989, some belts returned after the determined efforts of the chiefs to bring these belts back to the people. "Wampum." Onondaga Nation. 11 Sept. 2015. Web. 08 Feb. 2017.
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This belt is a national belt of the Haudenosaunee. The belt is named after Hiawatha, the Peacemaker’s helper. In this belt, it records when 5 nations; the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk, buried their weapons of war to live in peace. Each square represents a nation and the line connects each nation in peace.
The center symbol represents Onondaga. Here the peacemaker planted the Tree of Peace. Under this tree the leaders buried their weapons of war beneath it. Then the Peacemaker set forth a method for the Haudenosaunee to gather as one to think about decisions concerning the Haudenosaunee. The Peacemaker set the council fire at Onondaga. At Onondaga is where the nation leaders will meet. He then used the symbolism of the longhouse in the belt. To the west, he named the Senecas as our Western Doorkeepers and the east the Mohawks the Keepers of the Eastern door. As for the Onondagas, he named them the Firekeepers. They are entrusted ensure that the council fire of the Haudenosaunee continues on.
This belt was made when the Haudenosaunee was formed before the first Europeans came to Turtle Island.
What does each part of the Hiawatha Wampum represent?
Two Row Wampum – Guswenta
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.”
Tadadaho Belt
This belt recalls the time when the Peacemaker combed the snakes from Tadadaho’s hair. Changing the evil-minded Tadadaho into the pure-thinking leader. This belt also reminds the Haudenosaunee that once all of the chiefs accepted the Great Law, they became the guardians of this great peace for all of the generations to come. The diamonds down the center of the belt represent the thirteen other chiefs that are sitting with Tadadaho at Onondaga to continue the ways of the Haudenosaunee.
Pale Faces Belt
The Onondagas are shown as the two heavy lines. The middle thinner line represents the colonists. The Onondagas supported the colonists to help them survive in our territory. They relied on the Onondagas for survival. The people brought them food and medicine, taught them the ways of the woods, hunted with them, and traded goods. With the aid of the Onondaga, the colonists were able to live, learn, and live together in peace and harmony.
Dust Fan Belt
This belt symbolizes the Tree of Peace and is used to explain the Great Law. The Great Law includes the roles and responsibilities of the chiefs, clan mothers, faithkeepers, and the people. The tree on the belt is everlasting as it continues beyond the end of the belt foretelling the strength and longevity of the union.
These Wampum are mixed up. Match the Wampum to its description and move the picture to where it belongs.
George Washington Belt
The longest wampum belt is the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty belt. This belt is 6 feet long and composed of thirteen figures holding hands connected to two figures and a house. The 13 figures represent the 13 States of the newly formed United States of America. The two figures and the house symbolize the Haudenosaunee. The two figures next to the longhouse are the Mohawk (Keepers of the Eastern Door) and the Seneca (Keepers of the Western Door).
Six Nations Belt
The Peacemaker’s message told of the white roots of peace spreading out in the four directions. That people who follow this message to the source will find the Haudenosaunee. When the new allies were accepted into the Haudenosaunee, it was said that the Haudenosaunee was expanding by adding new “rafters” and extending the union of peace. This belt illustrates the strong union of the 6 nations. Each nation equal under the laws of the Haudenosaunee.
Circle Wampum
The equal strands of wampum represent the 50 chiefs. Each chief being equal and united. The one longer strand represents the people. When we are born our heart is in the middle of the circle. As we grow, the chiefs and the people work to keep the circle strong. The chiefs are said to be holding hands creating a large circle. Inside of the circle our the ways of the Haudenosaunee.
Alliance Belt
This belt uses the symbolism commonly used in Haudenosaunee belt making. Nations are usually symbolized with squares. Here in this belt, there are two squares at the end of the belt representing two nations. A vertical line running the length of the belt represents an agreement of peace.
These Wampum are mixed up. Match the Wampum to its description and move the picture to where it belongs.
Using this website, paper or beads to design and create a Wampum belt. It must contain symbols that explain one of the following:
Take a picture of your Wampum belt. Use Screencastify to create a video that explains the meaning of your Wampum belt.
Here are two examples.
What could these belts represent?
Decision making in the Iroquois confederacy
Decision making in the Iroquois confederacy