Wampum Belts and Indigenous Cultures Quiz

Wampum Beads and Belts

• Indians made beads from white and purple quahog shells through a difficult process of carving and hollowing them out with a bow drill.
• These beads, called wampum, were woven into belts to represent treaties, meetings with other cultures, and important stories of their history.

Hiawatha Belt

• The Hiawatha Belt is the most famous wampum belt, representing the five original Haudenosaunee nations that Hiawatha helped unite.
• The five nations, from west to east across New York, are the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk.

The Tree of Peace

• The tree in the center of the Hiawatha Belt represents the Onondaga nation and the Great Tree of Peace.
• The Great Tree of Peace is a symbol of where leaders of the five nations buried their weapons.

Two-Row Belt

• The Two-Row Belt features two parallel lines representing two boats sailing down a river.
• One boat represents the Haudenosaunee, and the other boat represents the Dutch, one of the first European groups to settle in the area in the 1600s.
• The belt symbolizes the relationship between the Haudenosaunee and the Dutch.