Wampum's Origins
What natural material was used to make wampum beads?
Shell
What did white wampum often symbolize?
Peace and life, purity, and prosperity.
Where did the 1764 meeting between First Nations representatives and Sir William Johnson take place?
Fort Niagara.
What two Nations are represented by the connected squares on the Ojibway Friendship Belt?
The Ojibway and Haudenosaunee.
Which First Nation’s wampum belt collection is described in the booklet?
The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Which shells were used to make white and purple or black beads?
Whelk shell for white beads and quahog shell for purple and black beads.
What might a red-painted wampum belt signal?
War.
What relationship did the Treaty of Niagara belt commemorate?
The relationship between the British Crown and First Nations.
In the Yellowhead Belt interpretation, what did the white fish emblem represent?
A clear, peaceful heart toward one another.
What did the seven white beads on the Town of Caledon Friendship Belt represent?
The benefit to the next seven generations.
What did metal awls help wampum makers do?
How could a wampum string or belt support a speaker’s words during diplomacy?
The wampum showed that the speaker and message were credible, authorized, and sincere.
What did the two figures holding hands on the Treaty of Niagara belt represent?
They represented the English and First Nations as friends and allies.
What did the beaver emblem on the Yellowhead Belt represent?
Wisdom.
Which two organizations are connected by the modern friendship belt described in the booklet?
The YMCA and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
According to the story in the booklet, what did the symbols on the Bear Nation's sashes help people remember?
They helped people remember their history and important matters.
What is a mnemonic device, and how did wampum belts serve this purpose?
A mnemonic device is a memory aid. Belts’ symbols helped people remember agreements or important events.
What did the “Dish with One Spoon” agreement say about sharing game, according to John Buck’s interpretation?
The Six Nations and Ojibway were to share the game.
What did the eagle on a tall pine tree at the Credit River represent?
Watching the council fires and quickly carrying messages.
What did the three rows of beads on the YMCA and Mississaugas Friendship Belt represent?
A silver covenant chain of peace, friendship, and trust.
The booklet says the word wampum comes from an Algonquian word. What did that word first refer to?
It first referred to white beads.
In the 1838 petition described in the booklet, what did the white and black beads represent?
White beads represented loyal, good feelings toward the Queen and her government. Black beads represented troubled hearts over not having title deeds to their lands.
According to Chief Yellowhead’s interpretation, which people had the right to hunt north of Lake Ontario?
The Anishinaabe, or Ojibway.
What did the two parallel vessels on the Two Row Wampum Belt symbolize?
The Haudenosaunee and Europeans traveling independently alongside one another, without interfering in each other’s affairs.
How does the booklet connect the Two Row Wampum Belt’s meaning to reconciliation today?
Its ideas of peace, friendship, and respect are presented as a guide for meaningful reconciliation between the Crown and Indigenous peoples.