As you can probably guess from my ID one of my main interests is the crafts and culture of the first nations people of America and Canada. One of the main areas i am interested in is the woodland Indians especially the period 1630-1800.
For several years now I have been making Wampum items.Originally these beads were made from shells. Purple wampum was made out of quahog shell (a type of clam) and white wampum was made out of dog whelk shells. Wampum was originally used by many east coast tribes as a means of recording events, Peace treaties, trade treaties, marriages and deaths etc. Also in some groups wampum was warn for heraldic reasons or as a means of personal decoration. Early in colonial history glass wampum beads were made as trade items by the bead factories in France and the Czech republic these were used extensively between the colonists and Indians.
here are a few pieces.
Wampum arm ties.Not only warn as personal decoration but designed to gather the bicep area of the sleeve to the arm.
A wampum sash. This is a copy of the belt warn by Daniel Day-Lewis in Last Of The Mohicans. I saw the film in the cinema aged 12 and this sparked my interest in wampum
Wampum Garters. Due to the design of eastern woodland leggings a means was needed to secure the lower part of the legging just below the knee. although this was done using quillworked leather straps and finger weaving (post coming soon) wampum was also used.
Another set of arm ties depicting turtles. The turtle is a very important part of many first nation creation legends. When the great spirit made the earth it was covered in water and all animals lived in the sea. The turtle swam to the bottom of the ocean and the sand and mud stuck to his shell became the land which the great spirit then inhabited with the animals
hope you have enjoyed looking at my work I will be making more pieces and as i do i will post them up. Also will be doing some pieces strung on home made braintan leather.
For several years now I have been making Wampum items.Originally these beads were made from shells. Purple wampum was made out of quahog shell (a type of clam) and white wampum was made out of dog whelk shells. Wampum was originally used by many east coast tribes as a means of recording events, Peace treaties, trade treaties, marriages and deaths etc. Also in some groups wampum was warn for heraldic reasons or as a means of personal decoration. Early in colonial history glass wampum beads were made as trade items by the bead factories in France and the Czech republic these were used extensively between the colonists and Indians.
here are a few pieces.
Wampum arm ties.Not only warn as personal decoration but designed to gather the bicep area of the sleeve to the arm.
A wampum sash. This is a copy of the belt warn by Daniel Day-Lewis in Last Of The Mohicans. I saw the film in the cinema aged 12 and this sparked my interest in wampum
Wampum Garters. Due to the design of eastern woodland leggings a means was needed to secure the lower part of the legging just below the knee. although this was done using quillworked leather straps and finger weaving (post coming soon) wampum was also used.
Another set of arm ties depicting turtles. The turtle is a very important part of many first nation creation legends. When the great spirit made the earth it was covered in water and all animals lived in the sea. The turtle swam to the bottom of the ocean and the sand and mud stuck to his shell became the land which the great spirit then inhabited with the animals
hope you have enjoyed looking at my work I will be making more pieces and as i do i will post them up. Also will be doing some pieces strung on home made braintan leather.
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I didn't realise that they were used as treaty/ recording pieces too 
