Wampum for Equity and Respect

 Some of you may have participated in one of the Blanket Exercise workshops offered through KAIROS , 10 Christian denominations and religious organizations that work together in faithful action for ecological justice and human rights. The exercise is hands and feet-on, inviting participants into a deeper understanding of how settlers and Indigenous peoples have interacted since earliest contact. The hour-long seminars remind those involved that the earliest relationships were reciprocal, based on treaties, one of which was the Two Row Wampum agreement (see below).

There is a new exhibition at the McCord Stewart Museum in Montreal called Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy which intrigues me. Here is the description: 

Wampum are remarkable objects made from shell beads that were exchanged for over two centuries—from the early 17th to the early 19th century—during diplomatic meetings between nations in northeastern America, including European nations. For the first time, this unprecedented exhibition brings together over 40 wampum belts from public and private collections in Quebec, Canada and Europe. Some forty cultural objects from the period also help to contextualize and explain their fundamental role.

The participation of contemporary Indigenous voices in the exhibition highlights the continuing importance of wampum in Indigenous cultures today. Discover the work of artists Hannah Claus, Nadia Myre, Teharihulen Michel Savard and Skawennati, inspired by wampum, and hear stories from members of several nations through a series of videos.

Would I go to Montreal specifically for this exhibition? It's unlikely, although Montreal is wonderful for many reasons, including the restaurants and bagels. I'm sure this would be a fascinating walk through time, a combination of a call to contrition for a miserable history of treaty-breaking and a visual feast. 

from the Canadian Museum of Human Rights website: 

According to Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, the history of the Two Row Wampum begins in 1613, when Mohawk people noticed newcomers entering their territory and clearing land. A delegation of Haudenosaunee was dispatched to meet with Dutch representatives to negotiate a relationship with the new peoples now occupying Haudenosaunee land.

As Onondaga Faithkeeper Oren Lyons recounts, the Two Row Wampum agreement was created to agree on how the nations would relate to one another. When the Dutch suggested that the Mohawk call them “father,” the Mohawk suggested an alternative – “brother” – to indicate a more equitable and autonomous relationship. The Haudenosaunee marked this agreement through beads on a wampum belt. The wampum belt has been referenced as an artifact and as an object but, as with any other document, it is read by those who understand its language.

\The wampum stands for equity and respect, depicting two boats each navigating the river of life without steering the other. Each boat contains the life, laws and people of each culture. The agreement is to last “as long as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, as long as the rivers run downhill, and as long as the grass grows green.” In other words, this agreement is to last as long as the people do. 

The agreement was expanded and affirmed nearly 150 years later in 1764 at the Treaty of Niagara, where more than 2,000 chiefs renewed and extended the Covenant Chain of Friendship, a multi‐nation alliance between Indigenous nations and the British Crown. The proceedings included a reading of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which places a duty upon the Crown to engage in treaty‐making with Indigenous peoples.