Photographs (left to right): December 25, 2009 Sunrise, Rush, New York; Pitcher Plant, Cranberry Glades, West Virginia; Cedar Key, Florida

Wampum Belt Archive

Beaver Belt

Only the top half exist today

Bottom image a mirror image to make the composite.

Cat #E91891 Smithsonian Institution, Department Anthropology.

 

Reconstruction of Beaver Belt

R D Hamell January 22 2018

 

 

 

Original Size:	Width estimate: 72 inches. Rows: 30 rows (estimated)
Reproduction:	Beaded Length: 36 inches. Width: 13 inches. Total length w/fringe: 60 inches.
Beads:	Columns: 185. Rows: 30. Total beads: 5,550 beads.
Materials	Warp: deer leather. Weft: artificial sinew. Beads: Polymer.

Description:

Text accompanying the original photograph (Sherman, 2013) showed the upper half of the belt, midline of the beaver and included only the left-hand section diagonal of the first diamond. I ‘restored’ the belt to full size by beading a mirror image of the beaver, plus two connected diamonds and Galban (2013) because the belt was a trade agreement. I decided not to weave a 6 foot belt as Sherman reported.

Sherman described the belt: "This fragment is believed part of the six foot belt of white wampum with a beaver of purple or black woven into on end which was presented to Sastaretsi's Wyandots by the Seneca at Niagara. The beading was originally about 30 rows wide."

Wyandot tradition stated this was presented by the Seneca to the Wendat. Fenton, Jennings and others suggest this could have been presented at a council in 1777 (Galban, 2013).

Stolle (2016) stated the belt was a gift of Howard W. Elkinton in 1952. Collected by Huldah H. Bonwill from the Wyandot in Oklahoma.

References
Galban, Mike. 2013/2018. Personal Communications.
Sherman, Hal. 2013. Personal Communications.
Stolle, Nickolaus. 2016. Talking Beads. Hamburg, Germany. ISSN 1437-7837