Student Tribune
Wampum: Death and Diplomacy, War and Peace
The PRISM Multicultural Center presents
WAMPUM: DEATH AND DIPLOMACY, WAR AND PEACE with
guest speaker
Richard David Hamell, MCC Associate Professor Emeritus
Wampum was first used by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) people, a confederacy
of several tribal nations; Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and later
the Tuscarora. Before Europeans arrived, the Haudenosaunee traded pelts,
squash, corn, and beans with fellow/other American Indian peoples along the
Atlantic coast for wampum beads. The use of wampum spread to other groups of
Native peoples and it became an object of historical and cultural importance
for them.
American Indian nations documented their cultural, political, and military
history, as well as religious stories, on wampum belts through geometric and
sometimes figural designs. The images imbued on each belt served as a visual
account of an event in that nation's history, such as battles or treaties
between two American Indian nations or between American Indians and Europeans
or Anglo-American settlers. A chief often had his own wampum belt, serving as a
certificate of his leadership position within the community, and it was often
buried with him or passed down to his successor. So although not "written
language" as we think of it today, the history was indeed captured in design
and symbols which could be read by Native people.
Please join us in a great historical presentation. Faculty bring or
encourage your students to attend.
When: Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Where: PRISM Multicultural Center, Building 1- Room 108
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Please R.S.V.P. to Char Guess-Bardques at Cbardques@monroecc.edu or
292-3640
Attached Files:
WAMPUM_prismF19.pdf
Batistta-Provost, Shirley
Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
11/05/2019