shell, clam, shell, whelk, skin, leather, fibre.

Measurement is inclusive of fringe on one end.

Large white circle above centre on a purple ground with 3 diagonal rows of smaller white crosses, one above and two below.

Wampum belt owned by Paul Picard Tsawenhohi (1845-1905), transferred to Cyrille Tessier via purchase (around 1888), transferred to J. Douglas Ferguson after 1952 from the family of Cyrille Tessier, finally transferred to the Bank of Canada in 1964.

A letter dated 6 June 1888 records the sale of several objects, including “Deux colliers en wampum, 1 ½ pouce de largeur, un grand et un petit” from Paul Picard to Cyrille Tessier.

J. Douglas Ferguson purchased this wampum belt and another from Tessier’s heirs after 1952. The wampum belt is illustrated in an article about Ferguson’s collection that appeared in La Tribune in 1959. Ferguson must have later sold the second belt as it did not end up in the National Currency collection with the other one.

In 1923, Huron-Wendat Chief Pierre-Albert Picard Tsichikwen, son of Paul Picard, met with Tessier to ask about recuperating the belts. Tessier declined. (A Letter dated Mar 29 1923 lists “2 colliers de wampum, 1 ½ de largeur (1 grand, 1 petit)”). The belts had been sold by Paul Picard who struggled with addiction and may have been pressured to sell them. Chief Pierre-Albert Picard Tsichikwen contacted the Department of Indian Affairs on Apr. 2 1923 to enquire if the sale was lawful in the first place based on legislation that prohibited the sale of “presents” from Indians to non Indians. The law apparently only applied in certain provinces, not including Quebec. In response to Picard, on Apr. 9 1923, J.D. McLean, Assistant Deputy and Secretary wrote that “there would be very little prospect of recovering them.”

This wampum belt appears in the photograph of a Huron-Wendat delegation that met with Théodore Robitaille, Lieutenant-Governor of Québec, at Spencer Wood in 1880. In the photo, Louis Vincent Sondakwa is wearing the wampum belt.

In 1952, this belt appears in a photograph taken by Marius Barbeau when he was studying Tessier’s collection at the Université Québec in Laval. A second belt appears in the photo, as does a label: “Exposition historique 250ième anniversaire de la foundation de Montréal 1892.” In his notes, Marius Barbeau states that the two belts in the photo are from Lorette-Wendake.

This wampum belt was part of a gathering hosted by the Bank of Canada Museum with elders from Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe First Nation on May 3 2024. The purpose of the gathering was to welcome the wampum belts in the National Currency Collection back to Algonquin territory after their loan to the McCord-Museum in Montreal for the exhibition Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy.

A photograph accompanying an article written in 1926 by W.A.M. in the Lewiston Journal, titled "Written to his friend, Dr. Nault of Quebec, and in the possession of Cyrille Tessier, notary, who is as old as the letter," shows 4 wampum belts, including this one, owned by Tessier at that time.

Type-written letter dated 6 juin 1888 records the sale of several objects, including “Deux colliers en wampum, 1 ½ pouce de largeur, un grand et un petit” from Paul Picard to Cyrille Tessier.

The information above was provided to the Bank of Canada Museum by Jonathan Lainey. Bank of Canada collection records provided to GRASAC.

Wampum: Beads of Diplomacy, McCord-Stewart Museum, Montreal. Oct 20th, 2023 to March 10th, 2024

Canada History Hall, Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau, 2018-2023.

In 1963, J.D. Ferguson displayed parts of his collection at the Royal Bank of Canada head office in Place Ville Marie, Montreal. The exhibition was opened on May 22nd by the bank’s president, W. Earle McLaughlin. Ferguson provided interpretive texts to accompany the objects on display, including a description of a wampum belt: “In this instance the small beads of wampum have been made into a belt which was presented to the head chief of the Indians of Lorette to conclude a treaty with the French." The exhibition lasted 8 months, culminating in December 1963, after which parts of Ferguson’s collection were sold to the Bank of Canada and to RBC. The transaction was noted by RBC Chairman and President W. Earle McLughlin in a letter of thanks to Ferguson dated December 24th, 1963:
“To me, one of the most interesting facets of the Exhibition was the portion dealing with the early money of this country. I know that it must be a heartache to break up this collection on which you have spent so much time and effort but, on the other hand, I know that you feel that the items which are going to the Bank of Canada and those which we have purchased will be available for many more Canadians to view in the years to come.”

Nikolaus Stolle, Talking Beads: The History of Wampum as a value and Knowledge Bearer, From its Very Beginnings Until Today. Hamburg: Verlag Dr. Kovac, 2016, p. 332, cat. 260.

The Gazette, Montreal, QC, Thurs May 23, 1963, p. 21.

The Montreal Star, QC, Thurs May 23, 1963, p. 36.

“His Money is Worth Thousands,” in WEEKEND Magazine 9:45 (1959), pp. 14-15 and 30-31 (wampum belongings illustrated on p. 14).

“Un collection unique au monde,” in La Tribune, mai 7 1959, pp. 14–17, 19. (wampum belongings illustrated on p. 14).

Ferguson Archives, Box 5 - J.D. Ferguson Correspondence (Canada & Foreign other than US 1960s & 1970, 72 Exhibit – Royal Bank of Canada), National Currency Collection.

For further details about the Bank of Canada Museum's wampum gathering on May 3, 2024, contact the Bank of Canada Museum.

Maker, Name unrecorded. Wampum belt. GRASAC ID 59180. Bank of Canada Museum 1964.88.7.

This record was created by Dana Murray on August 5, 2024. It draws on images and information provided by the Bank of Canada Museum.