WHAT IS WAMPUM?    

Wampum is a name for white, purple or black heads made from shells. Wampum served as money for trade between the Indians and the colonists in the early days of America.

The Indians in the eastern part of North America made wampum and used it for money and as a decoration. Wampum was made into belts or woven into clothing. Indians said that the white stood for health, peace and riches and that the purple meant sorrow or sympathy with another's sorrow.

The beads were made from the insides of shells and were about a quarter of an inch long, and half that wide. They were strung on strips of animal skin.

Colonists set up a standard of value for wampum. Six beads were worth a penny in some places. A six foot string of beads was worth five to 10 shillings.

Indians and colonists often exchanged belts of wampum as a sign of good faith when treaties and agreements were made. In 1661, the use of wampum as money was stopped in many places because so much false wampum was in circulation.