Today is National Native American Heritage Day and we’re making a fun Iroquois bracelet. Add this to my Iroquois lapbook for an amazing unit study.
When studying the Iroquois, you can’t forget the beautiful beadwork that was so important to the culture for many reasons.
Additionally, wampum belts were worn for ornamental, ceremonial, diplomatic and commercial purposes.
They were made to identify agreements and treaties between peoples.
For example, like between the Haudenosaunee and newcomers to North America.
Also, they were used as currency between tribes and the colonists.
We are going to take some liberties and use regular beads to work on fine motor skills with some simple coloring in squares and bead stringing.
Adding in some Native American history we’ll create simple a beadwork bracelet and have fun in the process.
While there are more complex weaving patterns for the wampum, this simple tutorial makes it easy for anyone to create.
Books About the Iroquois
Grab a few books from your library or pick up a couple that I have linked below to learn a little more about the Iroquois and the importance of wampum.
5 Books About the Iroquois
Learn about how the Iroquois lived.
A True Book: American Indian series allows readers to experience what makes each American Indian people distinctive and exceptional. Readers will get to know each tribes culture, influence and history
Examines the life and career of the fifteenth-century Iroquois Indian.
The Iroquois have lived in what is now upper New York State and Ontario, Canada, for more than 4,000 years. In the 12th century, a man of their tribe called the Peacemaker convinced the five other nearby tribes - the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, and Seneca - to work together with the Iroquois in a peaceful confederacy.
These traditional Native American stories along with related activities show parents and teachers how to teach children the importance of wildlife in Native American traditions. As the stories unfold and the activities come to life, the importance of our connections to animals became apparent.Features traditional Native American stories.Includes field-tested activities appropriate for all ages.Connects wildlife ecology and environmental issues.Fosters creative thinking and the synthesis of knowledge and experience.The stories in this book present some of the basic perspectives that Native North American parents, aunts and uncles use to teach the young. They are phrased in terms that modern youngsters can understand and appreciate, along with eye-catching illustrations and photographs throughout.
When Ohkwa'ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid on a neighboring village, he immediately tells his Mohawk elders. He has done the right thing—but he has also made enemies.
Then look at some facts below.
Interesting Iroquois Facts
- They were originally Five Nations that made up the Iroquois people- Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca. Later the Tuscarora joined.
- There was a trail that connected the Five Nations that make up the Iroquois, it was called the Iroquois Trail.
- The Iroquois Great Council still meets today.
- Wampum Is a shortened version of wampumpeag, which is derived from the Narragansett word meaning “white strings of shell beads. They were tubular beads made from seashells on the coast and were most often the white shells from the whelk shell and purple from the quahog clam shell.
- The main homeland of the Iroquois was in what is now New York State. They were also spread across Ohio, Pennsylvania, Quebec and Ontario.
- Up to 60 people would live in a single longhouse.
- The Iroquois slept on raised platforms.
- Besides the animals that they hunted, they mainly ate corn, beans and squash, named the Three Sisters.
- Men of the Iroquois hunted and fished, were the traders and fighters. And the women took care of farmed, gathered and processed food, raised the children, and took care of the housekeeping.
- The Iroquois moved to a new settlement near water every 10-30 years because the soil lost its nutrients and the animal and fish population declined from use.
Also, I have these other resources.
Finally, look at these Iroquois resources below.
More Iroquois Resources
- First, learn about the Confederacy here.
- Then, grab my free Iroquois lapbook here.
- Watch YouTube for Iroquois Haudenosaunee Long House Crafts for Kids
- Iroquois Diorama
In addition, look below at how to make a Native American wampum bracelet.
How to Make a Native American Wampum Bracelet
Next, you will need:
- Colorful beads
- Pipe cleaners/chenille stems
- Graph paper
- Markers in the same colors as the beads you use.
- Small piece of cardboard
- scissors
The number of beads you will need will depend on the length you want it and the size of the beads you choose.
First, determine how long you want the bracelet to be.
Line up beads along the length of the pipe cleaner to designate the length and this will help you decide how many you need for one row to determine the pattern in the next step.
You want to make it large enough that it can slide on and off without opening.
Decide on a pattern you would like to use, you can keep it simple and just alternate 2 to 3 colors, or a simple shape.
Mark it on a sheet of graph paper by coloring in each of the squares to represent the bead color you will use. For a bracelet 3 to 4 lines tall is perfect.
Next, cut a piece of cardboard a little shorter than the pipe cleaners and about 4”- 5” wide.
Cut slits in one end ¼” apart.
Place pipe cleaners on cardboard, press them through the slits and bend a small amount of one end over the back
Follow the pattern.
Put either one pipe cleaner at a time or across from one side to the other to replicate the pattern you created on paper.
Once all your beads are in place, remove the strands and twist one end together tightly without moving all the strands.
On the opposite end of the bracelet twist the ends together around one strand leaving it longer than the others.
Bend into a bracelet shape and wrap the longer strand from the end around the other piece to close it off.
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