Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clam.

Nov 20, 2024 · For thousands of years, Indigenous people of America’s northeast region have crafted small, cylindrical beads called wampum from purple and white whelk and clam shells. Often woven into...

Wampum is a vital part of Onondaga and Haudenosaunee culture. Wampum is created from the shell of a clam. The beads are cut from the white and purple parts of the shell.

wampum, tubular shell beads that have been assembled into strings or woven into belts or embroidered ornaments, formerly used as a medium of exchange by some North American Indians.

Oct 5, 2017 · Wampum was white or purple beads and discs fashioned from two shells: the white beads from the whelk, a sea snail with a spiral shape, and the quahog, a clam with purple and white coloring. Quahogs are found in the waters from Cape Cod south to New York, with a great abundance in Long Island Sound.

The meaning of WAMPUM is beads of polished shells strung in strands, belts, or sashes and used by North American Indians as money, ceremonial pledges, and ornaments.

The word "Wampum" comes from the Narragansett word for 'white shell beads'. Wampum beads are made in two colors: white ("Wòmpi") beads ("Wompam") from the Whelk shell ("Meteaûhock"), and purple-black ("Súki") beads ("Suckáuhock") from the growth rings of the Quahog shell ("Suckauanaûsuck").

Highly valued by Native American tribes for centuries, the Wampum combines natural beauty with traditional Native philosophy. The traditional Wampum was handmade shell beads, highly valued and traded by different Native American Tribes, long before the first Europeans arrived.

Apr 14, 2022 · Wampum is the descriptor for the material used in ancient beaded necklaces. These were used as trade goods among the Native groups in North America and even found their place as a currency in the early days of the colonies.

May 23, 2018 · Wampum were beads or disks of polished mollusk shells that were used as money by the Native Americans. The word is a shortened form of wampumpeag, an Algonquin word meaning "white string of beads." Wampum was used primarily by the Eastern Woodlands Indians, who came into contact with the European settlers during the early 1600s.