Welcome to Trail of Treaties 

Welcome to Trail of Treaties & Treaty Loom Project

Curated by Artpark's Indigenous Producer, Michele-Elise Burnett - Métis/Algonquin

Collaborator and Wampum Belt Maker, Professor Richard Hamell - adoptee into Seneca Nation

Project Collaborator Dr. Joe Stahlman - Tuscarora

Embark on an immersive and engaging audio/visual journey through six significant Wampum Belts that have shaped the lands you walk on today. As you travel the Trail of Treaties, discover each treaty through the Indigenous lens with interpretive descriptions and narrations by Dr. Joe Stahlman of the Tuscarora Nation.

We encourage you to listen via QR code and read about each of the six Wampum Belts. Don't forget to stamp your commemorative Trail of Treaties Passport Booklet at each station. Once completed, visit Richard D. Hamell and the team at the Gazebo to have your questions about the treaties answered, discover one of the largest Wampum displays in the USA, and learn how to make a wampum bead using traditional tools. Participate in weaving the Treaty Commitment and Intentions Loom. Together, we can build a stronger cross-cultural future for the next seven generations. 

Enjoy the Lewiston Art Festival and the Indigenous Programming proudly brought to you by Artpark.

Note: Upon engaging with all six Wampum Belt stations, guests will have the opportunity to create their own "The Edge of the Woods" wampum strand at the Gazebo (while supplies last) 

Jump to: Fort Niagara Belt 1764 | Canandiagua Treaty Belt | Jay Treaty Belt | Tuscarora Return Belt | Tuscarora Taken-in Belt | Tuscarora Holland Land Belt | 

Click here to listen to audio for all the belts!

Fort Niagara Belt 1764

Length: not given. Width: not given. Rows: 22 wide by 458 rows long.

Reproduction: Beaded Length: 80 inches. Width: 10 inches. Total length with fringe: 104 inches.

Beads: Rows: 22 wide by 458 long. Total 10,076.

Materials: Warp: Leather. Weave: Artificial Sinew.

 Reproduction Belt Created by Richard D. Hamell

Description:

The 1764 Treaty of Fort Niagara was signed by 24 Nations:

 

1.       Seneca

2.       Cayuga

3.       Onondaga

4.       Mohawk

5.       Tuscarora

6.       Wyandot of Detroit

7.       Menominee

8.       Algonquin

9.       Nipissing

10.   Ojibwa

11.   Mississaugas

12.   Odawa

13.   Shawnee

14.   Cherokee

15.   Miami

16.   Potawatomi

17.   Wabash Confederacy

18.  Onondaga of Oswegatchie

19.  Mohawk of Akwesasne

20.  Mohawk of Kahnawake

21.  Mohawk and Anishinabeg (Algonquin and Nipissing) of Kanesatake

22.  Abenaki of Odanak

23.  Abenaki of Bécancour (now Wôlinak)

24.  Huron of Jeune-Lorette (now Wendake)

The Treaty was concluded on August 1, 1764. The treaty transferred possession of a four mile strip of land along the Niagara River's western shore. This treaty shifted the Seneca away from the Ohio Country and the larger Pontiac's War.

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 established the British definition of Indian Country. The British considered these lands part of their claims in North America, but the Crown openly decreed that this country was considered owned by the Aboriginal peoples who lived on these lands. Consequently, in order to transfer ownership of the land to The Crown through the surrendering of the land from the indigenous peoples, the British Crown began formalizing the Treaty of Fort Niagara with the First Nations on July 8, 1764, through this Treaty Council. In protest, the Odawa of Detroit, the Wyandot of Sandusky, and the Lenape and Shawnee in the Ohio Country failed to come to the Treaty Council. This treaty created a new Covenant Chain between Britain and the First Nations of the western Great Lakes. During the War of 1812, Nations involved with this treaty allied themselves with the British, as the Nations believed the treaty bound them to the British cause.

The Ontario Archaeological Report of 1901 described this belt:

This belt consists of 22 strings or strands, each string containing 458 beads. Combined for a total of 10,076 beads. The human figures, with hands clasped indicate that a treaty is in force by an act of peace. Each hexagonal figure represents a national council fire. The belt contains the date 1764, woven in two parts "17" and "64" in the wampum beads, like an old-fashioned sampler. Just after the Pontiac’s War, deputies and warriors from many Nations assembled at Niagara in July, 1764.

It has been surmised that one of the signers was a band of Ottawas from Michilimackinac provided the belt to Sir Wiliam. Johnson, whose name was written on the drawing by Mr. Hallen. In the paper’s margin, Hallen penciled the following particulars of the ends of the belt: "The leathers are not above from half an inch to two inches long at the beginning, but half an inch to one inch at the ending. There are six branches of beads at the beginning, containing altogether 192 beads. One of the leathers is tied to the belt with a violet or blue ribbon Number of beads, in each branch, 6 July, 1852; 20, 35, 38, 40, 30, 29; total, 192."

Anishinabek Confederacy

“In this agreement the Crown offered us the Great Lakes Covenant Chain Confederacy Belt and The Twenty Four Nations Belt where we as those Twenty Four Nations accepted and exchanged with the Crown the Two Row Wampum Belt. By agreeing to this our Nations and the Crown accepted a nation-to-nation relationship rooted in a policy of peace and non-interference. These Belts also serve as the first constitutional documents for the Canadian State and any breach of this agreement is a disengagement of Canada's validity as a Country within our territories making all other laws of theirs invalid.”

Maurice Switzer (Mohawk-North Bay Ontario)

In (2017, Switzer stated, “ the five links in the Covenant Chain might refer to council fire locations, details about which I'm not specifically knowledgeable about. Alan Corbiere and other researchers have speculated that the inner beadwork of the links may be references to the Dish with One Spoon Belt, to which they bear some resemblance.”

 

The Union of Ontario Indians contracted Shawnee women from Ohio Country (Greenville, Ohio) to make a copy of the Niagara belt from real wampum beads. They had created an actual-sized paper template, so they could create a circle, which the diamond segments fit perfectly! The concept of a circle implied the agreement has no end and no time limit. A complete circle speaks to unity.

This similarity is noted in the Canandaigua Treaty (Washington) Belt.

Onondaga Records

At least 84 wampum belts were exchanged.

Rich Hamell Note:

This belt was a challenge to make. The original belt had been reported lost in a fire during the turn of the 20th Century. The length and width of the belt can be estimated by its bead length (458) and bead width (22). Using a graphic program (CorelDraw) the image was enlarged to 11 inches. Therefore, each bead width would be 0.024 inches. The next step was to overlay a grid using the bead width to determine each figure's bead count and the bead spacing between each figure. Once that was completed the bead count was compared to the original belt length. Due to the resolution of the original photocopy of the treaty belt there may be some error in the reconstruction of the images. Secondly, the use of the modern acrylic-clay wampum might have increased the length and width of reproduction from the original. But I feel confident the replica belt is a relatively accurate representative of the Niagara Treaty Belt of 1764.

Belt kept by Odawa Chief Assekiknk (Blackbird) in 1852. Drawing by Rev. Hallen.

 

References:

Anishinabek Confederacy: http://oshkimaadziig.org/governing-laws/

Switzer, Maurice. Director of communications for the Union of Ontario Indians provided the images for the 24 Nations and the Niagara Treaty (1764) belts.

Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Fort_Niagara

 

Canandaigua Treaty belt

Length: 72.45 inches. Width: 5.25 inches. Rows: 15. Beads: est. 10,000.

Beaded length: 105 inches. Width: 7.0 inches. Length w/ fringe: 128.0 inches.

Rows: 609 by 15 beads wide. Total beads: 9,135.

Warp: leather. Weave: artificial sinew

Reproduction Belt Created by Richard D. Hamell

 

Description:

 

The symbolic figures of 15 people with outstretched arms and clasped hands, extend along its length. In the center is a figure of a house, from the roof of which extends a protecting shelter for the man standing on either side. These two figures may be considered to be the Keepers of the Eastern and Western Doors of the Hodinöhsön:ni´, ensuring each door is protected from harm, at the open door of the representation of the National Capitol Building. The other remaining 13 figures, signifying the 13 American States, are joined in unity by the clasped hands. The designs are woven in the dark or purple beads on a solid white beaded field, which denote peace and friendship..

 

Canandaigua Peace Treaty of 1794 (Quoted from: Bardeau, 2011)

“In 1794, the United States was addressing the issues of aboriginal rights, particularly those of the Hodinöhsön:ni´. The Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolution, did not include Hodinöhsön:ni´ interests in its provisions. The first attempt to rectify this situation was made at Fort Stanwix in 1784. There, Hodinöhsön:ni´ war chiefs, who did not have the authority to make such decisions, ceded thousands of acres of their aboriginal territory to Pennsylvania, New York and the United States. Many Six Nations leaders were now trying to get some or all of that territory back. Fearing that the Hodinöhsön:ni´ might lend its support to the war in the northwest (Ohio) territory, George Washington sent Timothy Pickering to Canandaigua to renegotiate the agreement in an effort to satisfy Hodinöhsön:ni´ concerns, as well as to keep the peace.”

 

George Washington belt was given by him to the Haudenosaunee delegation of sachems who met with him in Philadelphia in early 1792. It wasn't until November of 1794 the treaty was formally signed in Canandaigua (Hamell, G.R. 2014).

 

The Treaty of 1794, also known as the Washington Treaty, or the Pickering Treaty, or the Canandaigua Treaty, established and recognized Hodinöhsön:ni´ title to reduced tracts ancestral homelands. More importantly, the treaty guaranteed each Nation’s sovereignty on their surviving land base. The U.S., nor any individual state or land speculator(s), could not purchase these lands without Congress ratifying a federal treaty. In addition, the treaty provided $10,000 in goods and an annuity of $4,500 and pledged to deal with the offenders guilty of criminal acts against members of the Hodinöhsön:ni´.

 

The Canandaigua Treaty’s importance to the United States and to the Hodinöhsön:ni´ cannot be overstated. Not only did it strengthen the federal position of authority over individual states when dealing with Native nations, but it also established a federal responsibility to protect Native interests and sovereignty from state and individual ambitions. Each year, the United States continues to honor this agreement with the distribution of annuity cloth. And each year, the Hodinöhsön:ni´ “brighten the chain of friendship” by commemorating the Treaty of Canandaigua on November 11 – the day and month when the treaty was first signed. For more information see Jemison and Schein (2000).

 

 

References:

Bardeau, Phyllis Eileen Wms. 2011. Definitive Seneca: It's In The Word. Jaré Cardinal, editor. Seneca-Iroquois Museum Publisher, Salamanca, New York, 443pp.

 

Clarke, Noah T. 1931 New York State Museum Bulletin No. 288.

 

Hamell, G. R. 2014. Personal Communications.

 

Jemison, G. Peter and Anna M. Schein. 2000. Treaty of Canandaigua 1794: Two Hundreds Years of Treaty Relations Between the Iroquois Confederacy and the United States. Clear Light Publ., 335pp.

 

Jay Treaty belt

 

Original Size: unknown

Beaded Length: 22.25 inches. Width: 4.2 inches. Length with fringe:46.25

Rows: 122 long. Wide: 9. Total beads: 1,098.

Warp: Leather. Weave: artificial sinew.

Reproduction Belt Created by Richard D. Hamell

 

 

Description:

 

Jay's Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation, between His Britannic Majesty and the United States of America, by their President, Ratified June 24, 1795. Published by Neale and Kammerer, Philadelphia, 1795. Although the Treaty of Paris (1783) ended the American War for Independence, the years following saw relations between America and England deteriorate precipitously. The Crown refused to evacuate the forts in the Northwest Territory (see note below); in addition, British ships seized American ships, forcing American sailors to serve in England's war against France. The United States passed navigation laws that were potentially damaging to Great Britain. It was apparent that a commercial war between the two countries would undermine the health of the American economy. The American statesman John Jay, pressed into service as special envoy, went to England to negotiate agreements between the two governments. On November 19, 1794 Jay's Treaty was signed, averting the threat of war. The Treaty eliminated British control of western posts within two years, established America's claim for damages from British ship seizures, and provided America a limited right to trade in the West Indies. Although Jay's Treaty provoked a storm of controversy, President Washington pressed for ratification. The treaty passed the Senate in June, 1795.

 

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 allowed for the creation of as many as five states in the northwest portion of the Ohio Valley on lines originally laid out in 1784 by Thomas Jefferson. Known as The Northwest Territory, the new federal lands were east of the Mississippi, between the Ohio River, and the Great Lakes. The ordinance defined the boundaries of the states, excluded slavery and required that 60,000 inhabitants be present for statehood. Major General Arthur St. Clair was appointed its first Governor. Ultimately, the territory was organized into the present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin.

 

The Jay Treaty was signed in London on November 19th, nine days after Timothy Pickering concluded the Canandaigua Treaty.

 

A very important provision in the Jay Treaty was the freedom of passage across the international border (Canada-US)of Indigenous Peoples. This right was repeated in the Ghent Treaty at the end of the War of 1812.

 

Clinton Rickard described the belt (1973: 74) as a small purple-fielded belt with a white line running the length of the belt and at each end were four short white lines.

 

 Some scholars believe there is not a belt created because it was an agreement between the United States and Great Britain; therefore no wampum belt(s) would have been exchanged. Although a Commonwealth nation, Canada proclaims itself an independent country, so Canada chooses not to honor the agreement made by Great Britain.

 

References:

 

Map from: http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/milestones/jaytreaty/

 

DianneLaramee.ca.http://www.diannelaramee.ca/solstice2006.htm

 

Einhorn, Art. 2012. Personal Communications.

 

Rickard, Chief Clinton. 1973. Fighting Tuscarora: the autobiography of Chief Clinton Rickard. Syracuse University Press, 182 pp.

 

Tuscarora Return Belt

 

Original Size: Unknown

Beaded length: 28.0 inches. Width: 11.0 inches. Length w/fringe: 52.0 inches.

Rows: 162 by 24 rows wide. Total: 3,888 beads.

Warp: Leather. Weave: Artificial Sinew

Reproduction Belt Created by Richard D. Hamell

 

 

Description:

Ken Marcle:

“This belt announced the return of the nomadic Tuscaroras. It was made in 1714. The Six Nations are represented by purple colored, step-like, triangle designs. For the first time it gives official recognition to the white man in Indian affairs; the symbol of the invader being indicated in the lower corners.” 

 

Neil Patterson, Sr:

“The zigzagging of the beads represents wandering. People call this a migration. A migration is what you see geese do. What happened long ago wasn’t a migration.”

 

 

Reference:

Marcle, Ken. The Wampum Shop. https://www.wampumshop.com/

 

Tuscarora Taken-In Belt

 

Original Size: unknown

Length: 28.0 inches. Width 3.3 inches. Rows: 12.

Beaded length 189 rows by 12 wide; 32 inches. With fringe 56 inches by 5.4 inches wide.

2,268 polymer beads.

Warp: deer hide. Weft: artificial sinew

Reproduction Belt Created by Richard D. Hamell

 

 

Description:

The Tuscarora Alliance Belt, The Six Nations Brace Belt, also called the Tuscarora Taken-In Belt. The Tuscarora provided Hodinöhsön:ni´Council several belts at this ceremony (Rick Hill, Six Nations Reserve, 2010). This particular belt, like the white beaded national belt of the Onondagas, contains six purple diagonal bars, or braces, along its length. Each diagonal band represents a Nation of the Confederacy - a supporting beam of the metaphorical League Longhouse. There are a lot of unknowns with this belt.

 

There is an existing photograph of a belt identified as the Alliance Belt, with seven of these diagonal bars. It is uncertain, but may have contained a greater number of bars.  General Clark's photograph of the belts shows it mutilated at both ends. Often it has been explained as commemorating the entrance of the Tuscarora Nation into the Hodinöhsön:ni. The use of diagonal bars on a belt signified support to the Long House, the symbol for the League.

 

References:

 

Clarke, Noah T. 1931 New York State Museum Bulletin No. 288, Fig. 36.

 

Hill, Rick. 2009. Personal Communications.

 

Tuscarora Holland Land Belt

 

Original Size: Unknown

Length: 21.05 inches. Rows: 7.

Beaded length: 26.63 inches. Width: 4.56 inches. Rows: 10. Length with fringe: 48.63 inches.

163 rows: 10 wide: Total: 1,630 beads.

Warp: leather. Weave: Artificial sinew

Reproduction Belt Created by Richard D. Hamell

 

 

Description:

 

The Tuscarora Belt was at the Buffalo County Historical Society (Rick Hill). According to the Haudenosaunee Runner (Summer, 2000) was presented at the meeting with a delegation of Tuscarora chiefs and the U.S. general agent for Indian Affairs, Capt. Isreal Chapin. The meeting took place in Canandaigua, New York in 1799. The Tuscarora delegation requested that the Holland Land Company give the Tuscarora Nation an additional square mile of land to be added to their existing territory within western New York. In 1914, Cornell University professor Paul Evans found the wampum belt in a Holland vault. And in 1962, while entrusted to the Buffalo Historical Society, the belt went missing and has yet to be found. The Tuscarora Nation would like to have the belt returned for it is an important document to authenticate the Tuscarora Nation's claim.

 

Reference:

Haudenosaunee Runner. 2000. Holland Land Belt. Summer Issue, p.23. Published by the Tonawanda Seneca Nation Office, Meadville Rd., Basom, NY 14013.

Hill, Rick. 2010. Personal Communications. Six Nations of Canada.