shell, fibre / coquille, fibre

During a gathering at the Bank of Canada Museum on May 3, 2024 Fred Kabooniishin McGregor, an Omaamiiw-ininii (Algonquin) from Kitigan Zibi, shared knowledge about this string. He referred to it as a condolence string. He mentioned that the ends look old, especially the ribbon tied to the ends, but that the string on which the beads are strung looks newer. It’s possible that the string was restrung while in the Museum’s collection and is now possibly an amalgamation of other wampum beads that were acquired by the museum.

In “The Eastern Algonkian Wabanaki Confederacy” (American Anthropologist 17: 3, Sept. 1915), Frank Speck described how similar wampum strings were used to deliver messages between communities within the Confederacy (Malecite, Passamaquoddy, Penobscot, Mi’kmaq). In Speck’s example, the message being delivered was about the death of a Penobscot chief (p.504-505).

Speck recounted the memories of a Mi’kmaq elder in Bear River (Annapolis Valley) who described how messages were delivered using wampum strings: “...summons and invitations were conveyed from village to village by means of strings of wampum to command attention and prove the bearer’s authenticity. Such strings were kissed by those to whom they were shown. The bearers...would enter the chief’s house carrying the wampum in a small birchbark box. Depositing this before the chief he would repeat his message, recalling the different items of his speech by the arrangement of the white and blue beads” (p. 506).

This belonging has been dissociated from its accession record. We do not know when or from where it was acquired.

Bank of Canada Museum collection records provided to GRASAC.

The clear glue adhered to parts of the string indicates that it was probably on display in the Currency Museum (now the Bank of Canada Museum) for an unknown period of time beginning in 1980.

This wampum string was part of a gathering hosted by the Bank of Canada Museum with elders from Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabe First Nation on May 3 2024. Participants of Kitigan Zibi Anishinaabeg First Nation included Elder Peter Decontie, Elder Claudette Commanda, Elder Verna McGregor, and Elder Fred McGregor; participants of the Bank of Canada Museum included Director Stacy Wakeford, Janik Aubin-Robert (Collections Manager), Krista Broeckx (Assistant Curator), Patricia Measures (Conservator), and Stephanie Shank-Munro (Collections Specialist). 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.

Maker, Name unrecorded. Wampum string. GRASAC ID 59184. Bank of Canada Museum 2222.2022.3.1.

This record was created by Dana Murray on August 6, 2024. This record draws on images and information provided by the Bank of Canada Museum.