Photographs (left to right): All Niobara County, Wyoming

Wampum Belt Archive

 

Six Nations’ Unity Belt

Tehanetorens. 1999.

Original Six Nations Belt

Six Nations on leather (R. D. Hamell)

 

Original Size:

Length: ?. Width: ?.  Rows: 226 by 10 beads wide.

Reproduction:

Beaded length: 52.5. Width: 4.75 inches: Total length with fringe: 72.5 inches.

Beads:

Rows: 296 by 10 beads wide. Total 2,960 beads.

Materials:

Warp: Leather. Weave: Artificial Sinew.

Description:

“This belt is a peace belt, and the white wampum in the belt stands for peace. The six diamonds woven into the belt stand for the territory and council fires of the Six Nations, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Tuscaroras, and Senecas.” (Tehanetorens, 1999, p. 91) Tehanetorens (1999) illustrated this belt as having all six diamonds filled-in with checked-purple wampum. However, the examination of the original belt the 2nd and 4th diamonds (left to right) on the original belt are almost entirely gone. The third and 5th diamonds are filled with white wampum, not filled as shown in Tehanetoren's image. It was suggested by Jamie Jacobs, Tonawanda Territory, the second diamond from the left would have been open (filled with white) and the forth diamond from the left would have been filled with checkered purple wampum as the end two diamonds. The checked-purple filled diamonds would have represented the Elder Brothers, whereas, the open (white-center) diamonds symbolized the Younger Brothers.

Ex NMAI 03/1908 purchased by George G. Heye in 1907, collected by Thomas R. Roddy in 1899.

Reference:

Jacobs, Jamie. 2009. Personal Communications.

Tehanetorens. 1999. Wampum Belts of the Iroquois. Book Publishing Company, Summertown, TN.