turtleclaninc

sekoh
i see more and more venders selling wampum lately, probaly someones found a cheap way to mass produce and market.
i know many nations used waumpum for barter. strings of wampum were traditionaly strung to record events. amd the belts woven to record historical meetings ECT. these items are held sacred by the haudenosaunee ...so are we now to see the market flooded with faux belts and patterns? When i saw Crazy crow offering them a while back...honestaly i was a bit sad....sad to see another sacred item be sucked up in America's commerce machine...... and also was wanting to revamp my choker and bandolliers using quahog wampum I asked a few people back home on this issue...I was amazed at the responces........so i guess I'll throw out the question here...Whats your thoughts?........Onen

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In Search of the Elusive Government Cheese

Blackbear

Real quahog wampum beads are expensive.. machine made or not. I don't see them offered for sale that often... and the only place I've seen old ones is on ebay and that's usually something that should be reported to nagpra.

Honestly I don't see a reason with using the fake or the new beads. At least not for decorating. I'm not liking all these belt reproductions being sold though. They kinda cheapen the real ones in my opinion. And I really don't see a purpose in them. Maybe they could be used for educational exhibitions but how many do you REALLY think are doing that?

You know, the Jake Thomas Learning Center offers classes sometimes in making wampum beads. Maybe making them yourself would make you feel better about using them? I know my cousin took the class and it took him a week to make 6 beads I think he said. But he said it was worth it.

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Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.

turtleclaninc

Sekoh BB
one of my worst fears is seeing belt patterns on shawls or as blanket strips. I agree that copies of the belts cheapen the real ones. A few people questioned. felt that since many other nations besides Iroquois used the beads for decorations and trade....using them for what ever was fine...on the flip side...it seems the more traditional dancers and some Native Artists that i questioned felt that they should be
respected as the elders had chosen to use the quahog waupum to weave the belts over all of the other beads available. thanks for the reply BB your insite is well recieved, i hope other members respond as well,

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In Search of the Elusive Government Cheese

Blackbear

What about shawls with the Ayonwatha belt? Today it is a symbol of the Haudenosaunee in our flag and many people use it to identify who they come from if not to an exact name. I have a shawl (not one I made though) with the ayonwatha on it... never thought anything bad about it...

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Don't worry that it's not good enough for anyone else to hear... just sing, sing a song.