“Penn Wampum Belt” said to have been given by Chief Tamanend to William Penn c. 1682-3. Donated by John Granville Penn (Penn’s great-grandson) to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1857. Now on display at the Philadelphia History Museum. Photo by Stephanie Mach.
Colonial Era Wampum Belts
“Colonial-era” wampum belts are those known to have been produced during the colonial settler era in northeastern North America (pre-1600 to 1800), and historically used for diplomacy/ritual/ceremonial purposes within or between Indigenous and European nations.
A number of “traditional” Native American wampum belts may be included in the category of “colonial-era” wampum belts, especially when they are known to have been constructed to record or reflect a specific inter-tribal or inter-cultural alliance, event, or understanding. These belts may also be classified as political and patrimonial, in that they belong to, and represent, a nation, rather than any single individual.