Darren Bonaparte. Photo from The Wampum Chronicles
Author Darren Bonaparte (Mohawk) delves into the history of a wampum belt belonging to the Onondaga Nation:
One of the most intriguing wampum belts of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy is one known by many names: the Remembrance belt, the Defeat of the French Record belt, the Peacemaker belt, the Prophecy belt, and—to keep life simple—the Peacemaker Prophecy belt. It is a bit of a myth that wampum belts actually had names, but these are the ones that have been attached to the belt over the years. There are just as many interpretations. The two that stand out are literally worlds apart. The wampum in question is a long, narrow belt. It is 40.4 inches long by 2.5 inches wide, or 341 rows by 7 rows, for a total of 2,387 beads. The symbols are white on a purple background. They depict a human figure standing above an open diamond, with a long line extending from the human’s head that ends in a cross. The belt’s imagery makes it stand out in spite of its relatively small size compared to others. Cayuga Chief Jacob E. Thomas, or Teiohonwé:thon, was one of the most revered Haudenosaunee leaders of the last century. He was able to recite the Creation Story, the Great Law of Peace, and the Code of Handsome Lake in several native languages.Get the Story:
Darren Bonaparte: The Remembrance Belt: Conflicting Traditions of an Onondaga Wampum (Indian Country Today 4/8)
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