Online
In this virtual talk, learn about several wampum belts attributed to 17th century encounters among the Lenape/Delaware people and William Penn. Dr. Margaret M. Bruchac shares insights from her material analyses and photographic studies of these belts, highlighting significant weaving details and symbols.
Indigenous Native American wampum belts—composed of whelk and quahog shell beads, plant fibers, and leather strands—were created to encode tribal relations and diplomatic understandings. One of these wampum belts is on display in our new galleries of Early American art. Two related belts are housed at the National Museum of the American Indian, one is at the Royal Ontario Museum, and one is at the British Museum.
Things to Know
- There will be time for a Q&A at the end of the program.
- A link will be sent to registrants prior to the program from Public Programs no-reply@zoom.us
- The program will be recorded. A link to the recording will be sent to everyone who registers for the program.
About the Speaker
Dr. Margaret M. Bruchac, in her multi-modal career as an ethnographer, historian, museum consultant, and performer, has long been committed to restorative interpretations of Indigenous history and material culture. At the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Bruchac is an Associate Professor of Anthropology, Associate Faculty in the Penn Cultural Heritage Center, and Coordinator of Native American and Indigenous Studies. Her 2018 book – Savage Kin: Indigenous Informants and American Anthropologists (University of Arizona Press) – received the inaugural Council for Museum Anthropology Book Award. She directs a restorative research project – "The Wampum Trail" – that focuses on the history, meaning, materiality, curation, and repatriation of historical wampum objects in museums. She is the author of "Broken Chains of Custody: Possessing, Dispossessing, and Repossessing Lost Wampum" in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (March 2018), and many other research articles.