The Native Americans have a rich culture steeped in centuries of history and tradition. The skills to make tools, artifacts, and handicrafts have been passed on from generation to generation, and form part of the cultural wealth of America. It is up to all of us to preserve this vast wealth of cultures in our own little way. One way that you can help yourself remember the culture of the Native Americans is to make your own wampum design, and build your own belt of wampum.
What is Wampum?
Shells are an important form of exchange among many cultures. Before coinage, money, and other forms of tributes and gifts, indigenous American peoples used beads made from shells to exchange for goods, or to honor an important guest or event. Shells were first used as a memory aid; each shell was a way for the elders to remind themselves of time, epic tales, folklore and legend, and rituals.
Native Americans in the Northeast, particularly among the Algonquian-speaking peoples of the Northeastern United States and parts of southeastern Canada (New Brunswick, in particular), used the shells of whelks memory aids. Each shell represented a specific memory, and was treasured by the community.
After the indigenous peoples have come into contact with the Europeans, wampum belts were transformed into money, and became an important form of exchange among the Native Americans . Wampum were also important symbols of honor and prestige for the peoples’ elders and leaders.
There are two kinds of shells used in wampum:
White whelk is the shell most commonly used in making wampum. The cream-colored shells of the channeled whelk used for wampum are found only in certain places in the northwestern Atlantic, like Narragansett Bay. The Algonquian name for beads made with white whelk are called “wampi.”
Sewant/dark whelk are the colored shells used to decorate or add designs to wampum belts. The Algonquian name for dark whelk is “saki,” although sewant shells are named after “Sewanacky,” a Native American name for Long Island. Black and purple shells are held in high regard by the Native Americans, although dyed shells have a very decreased value as gifts or as forms of commerical exchange.
Making a Wampum Design
Making wampum begins with a design. The Native Americans typically wove wampum with the design in their memories or a rough sketch drawn on a leaf or the soil, resulting in a rustic pattern. Wampum used as memory aids were built up slowly over time, with beads inserted and woven into the belts for every memory or significant event. Here are some tips to help you make you make a wampum design:
Hand-drawn designs. If you want to make your own personalized wampum design, draw a clear sketch on a piece of paper. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you can, but it’s best to keep the color patterns as simple as possible. One way to help you make a wampum design is to use graphing paper, and shade some of the boxes to build a pattern.
Books and magazines. Many books on Native American folklore contain pictures and illustrations of actual wampum belts. You may attempt to reproduce them if you want your own wampum pieces as home decor.
Museums. You can go to museums to get inspiration for wampum belt designs. You can draw inspiration from wampum patterns that already exist, or you can take other visual and artistic elements from other Native American artifacts.
Building Wampum
Wampum is easy to make, although it takes a lot of preparation to prepare materials, and a lot of practice to build the wampum belts. Many indigenous American peoples, like the Native Americans and First Peoples, hold wampum-making in high regard. The traditional method of making wampum involves crude stone tools, although you can now make wampum with modern equipment.
Making the Beads
While wampum can be made from plastic pony beads or wood, authentic wampum is made from seashells that take a lot of care and effort to prepare. To make wampum beads, you’ll need the following tools:
Wampum is made from whelk shells; you can ask the neighborhood aquarist or a pet store for whelk shells that you can use for your wampum project.
Tack hammer
Scalpel
Three grades of sandpaper (fine, medium-grade, and coarse-grit)
Polishing wheel
To prepare your beads, follow these steps:
Use a tack hammer to carefully crack and break the whelk shells into bead-sized pieces. Carefully throw away the shell fragments that you cannot use.
Pierce a small hole in the center of the rough bead-shell with the scalpel.
Hand-polish the beads with the sandpaper, or use a polishing wheel. Make sure not to completely rub off the translucent swirls on the shells.
Set the beads aside on a box, jar, or other safe container.
Weaving Wampum
Weaving wampum takes time, patience, and practice. Depending on the length and width of the wampum belt, you will need a set of long strings and short strings. You can use thread, unwaxed dental floss, or thin twine. To make a wampum belt, follow these steps:
Start off by knotting one end of a long piece of twine to hold a bead in place. Do the same for the another shorter length of twine.
Thread the longer piece of twine into a bead, and thread the shorter piece into the same hole. You now have the corner of your wampum belt.
Do the same for the entire length and width of the belt to form the borders. You should now have a loose lattice or grid of shells and twine.
Weave the wampum belt by threading the beads on the long and short lengths of twine, following your pattern. Depending on how complicated your design is, it will take around two hours to a full day, and a lot of shell-beads, to complete a wampum belt.
Wampum is a very important part of Native American culture. With these tips to help you make a wampum belt, you can help remember the days and the ways of the first American peoples in your own little way. After learning this accessory, time for you to know another part of the Native American culture, read how to make a teepee.