ABOUT THE REPLICA WAMPUM BELT

This is a miniature wampum belt made by Ken Maracle using contemporary beads and waxed thread. Ken Maracle is a traditional Indigenous artist who is the faith keeper of the Lower Cayuga Longhouse and a member of the Cayuga Nation, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, and Deer Clan. He has been making reproduction wampum belts, condolence canes, horn rattles, water drums, and traditional headdresses for more than thirty years. He speaks the Cayuga language and is knowledgeable about the history of the Cayuga Nation.

This miniature wampum belt comes in a set with two others, all using the same materials and colors. Maracle created this wampum belt to represent the Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) Confederacy, as it is the same design as the Confederacy’s flag. The history behind the Iroquois Confederacy (founded c.1142-1450) is that there were five Indigenous nations who lived within land from south to east of Lake Ontario, and they wanted to create a peace treaty between them all. These Indigenous nations were the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Onondaga. During the 1700s they invited the Tuscarora Nation to join as well. Each white square and the tree in the center represent one of the original Five Nations: from left to right, the Seneca Nation, the Cayuga Nation, the Onondaga Nation, the Oneida Nation, and the Mohawk Nation. The reason that the beading of the pattern is white is because it represents the “path of peace” which welcomes other nations to take shelter under the Confederacy. The belt holds great significance to Maracle upbringing because it celebrates his people’s long history and his personal ties to the Confederacy. -Juliana Hilderbrand ’28

Ken Maracle
Miniature Wampum Belt – Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy, 2004
Beadwork and threadwork
SLU 2004.30.
Richard F. Brush Art Gallery
St. Lawrence University
Canton, NY