sovereignty and of the Grand Council (Snyderman 1954:477–78). Wampum belts were
used by various tribes to record political and diplomatic events (Snyderman 1954:476–
78).4 Within the Grand Council, political belts of the latter type were often read and
discussed before a new treaty or agreement was accepted (Snyderman 1954:476). Abrams
(1994:356) observed that the “traditional importance of the Iroquois wampum belts was that, among other uses, they were tangible reminders and markers of major treaties,
alliances, and historical events.” As such, many of these Confederacy, or National, belts
are quite literally archival records of the Haudenosaunee.
European leaders caught on very quickly to the importance the Haudenosaunee
attached to wampum and they dedicated significant resources to the production of
wampum beads, strings, and belts for use in political contexts (Snyderman 1954:473;
Tooker 1978a:422-23). Becker and Lainey (2004:26–27) suggest that the gifting of
wampum strings and belts during American and Canadian political and diplomatic
proceedings became standard procedure; one that persisted through the first quarter of the
nineteenth century.5
History of the Six Nations of the Grand River
By the late eighteenth century, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (also referred to
as the Six Nations Confederacy and the Iroquois Confederacy), which included the
Onondagas, Mohawks, Senecas, Oneidas, Cayugas, and Tuscaroras, had been in
existence for centuries.6 Each tribe retained its political autonomy but sent representatives
to serve on the Confederacy’s Grand Council of the Haudenosaunee (also referred to as
the League of Fifty Chiefs).
The Onondagas are known as the Fire-Keepers of the Council and also serve as
the Confederacy’s archivists. One individual, traditionally the seventh Onondaga chief of
the Wolf clan (Hononwiehdi), is appointed wampum keeper (Fenton 1989:403). The
Grand Council convenes several times a year at Onondaga, the home of the Fire-Keepers,
to discuss issues affecting each nation and the confederacy as a whole (Fenton 1998:212–
13; Morgan 1975[1851]:63, 102; Tooker 1978a:426).
From the beginning of European contact, the Haudenosaunee were affected by
and participated in the political and commercial dealings of the French, English, Spanish,
4
Hale (1897b:481-82) has suggested that many of these belts were woven with certain design elements that
serve as mnemonic devices.
5
As an example, Superintendent of Northern Indians, Sir William Johnson, frequently gave belts to tribes
on diplomatic occasions such as this one recorded in 1756: “Wherefore, agreeable to your request, I shall
immediately have a fort built for the safety of your old people, children, and friends, living round about
there; I will also supply you with arms, ammunition, &c. to defend the said fort, against any attempts the
French, or their Indians, may make upon you: keep a good look out, and if at any time you find a design
against you, let me know it, and I will come immediately to your assistance. This I confirm by this belt of
wampum” (Johnson 1755 and 1756:18).
6
The Tuscaroras were admitted as a member by the Five Nations ca. 1722 or 1723, after which time the
Confederacy was called, the Six Nations. As the newest member of the Confederacy, the Tuscarora chiefs
were not given any chiefs’ roll-call titles within the Council.
12