Iroquois Chiefs from the Six Nations Reserve reading Wampum belts in Brantford, Ontario. (L to R: Joseph Snow, George Henry Martin Johnson, John Buch, John Smoke Johnson, Isaac Hill, John Senaca Johnson.) Horatio Hale, 1871. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.
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Original PNG File | 936 × 625 pixels (0.59 MP) 7.9 cm × 5.3 cm @ 300 PPI | 620 KB | Restricted |
High resolution print | 936 × 625 pixels (0.59 MP) 7.9 cm × 5.3 cm @ 300 PPI | 189 KB | Restricted |
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Resource ID
7668
Access
Open
Credit Line
Electric Studio / Library and Archives Canada / c085137
Date of Creation
14 September 1871
Description
Since the 17th century, treaties between Great Lakes Indigenous nations would often be recorded within a wampum belt. The belt was made of wampum (whelk or clam shell) beads arranged in a design that depicted the agreement. Every few years chiefs of the nations involved in the treaty would meet to renew the agreement by reading the belts together, as seen in this photo.
Keywords
Indigenous History, Haudenosaunee, Haudenosaunee Confederacy, Indigenous Governance
Program Category
Tours
Rights
Public Domain
People Depicted
(L. to R.): Joseph Snow, Onondaga Chief; George Henry Martin Johnson, father of Pauline Johnson, Mohawk John Buch, Onondaga; John Smoke Johnson, father of George Henry Martin Johnson, Isaac Hill, Onondaga; John Senaca Johnson, Seneca.
Caption
Iroquois Chiefs from the Six Nations Reserve reading Wampum belts in Brantford, Ontario. (L to R: Joseph Snow, George Henry Martin Johnson, John Buch, John Smoke Johnson, Isaac Hill, John Senaca Johnson.)
Horatio Hale, 1871. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.