Have you heard about Wampum? It is a shell bead found on the Atlantic coast of North America and that the Native American societies have included into their cultures and functioning, its use being diverse. This shell bead is dedicated an exhibition from February 8 to May 15, 2022, by the musée du Quai Branly, called “Wampum. Beads of diplomacy from former Royal New France”.

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The bead was originally used as an ornament or a symbol of prestige or even “exchanged and gifted”. Its use is diversified in the 17^th and 18^th centuries “within the context of relations between the indigenous nations and European colonies who settled in this vast territory” spanning from south Quebec to South Carolina. A genuine witness of a chapter of the Native American, North American and European history, also providing “a valuable point of entry to understanding the societies that were formed during the era of New France (1600-1763), through the exchanges, alliances and clashes between the Native Americans, French and English”.

All in all, about fifty pieces and items are displayed shining a light on “all aspects of wampum: a coveted raw material, made into beads and other objects like diplomatic belts, a tool for oral histories, a trade resource, a sign of power and prestige, and a religious object”. The exhibition also stands for the “fundamental role among Native American nations, particularly the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), the Huron-Wendat and the Abenaki”. Shall we discover Wampum, friends?