Welcome to our Website. We are a small business located on the beautiful Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. All of our items that we offer in our product gallery are handmade by Ken Maracle. We hope you appreciate the authenticity and will take a few minutes to browse through the gallery to view our exceptional, handmade and truly authentic Wampum Belts, canes, rattles, water drums, Gahsdo:wah and more.
Ken is one of the few people today who still makes real Wampum beads from the Quahog shell. The white wampum can be made from Quahog, Whelk or Conch but the Purple Wampum can only be made from Quahog shell. Even with today's modern tools making wampum beads is very delicate and time consuming work. The shells must be drilled under water to prevent breaking. It takes about 15 minutes to make one bead. Then the beads must be sanded and polished. Ken creates beautiful Wampum Belts using real Wampum Beads as well as glass beads and acrylic beads. The belts are strung on Braided Sinew, Leather or Hemp.
Most of the Wampum Belts shown here on the website are exact replicas of the original Centuries old Wampum Belts that are in Museums all over the world or kept by Wampum Custodians at Six Nations and at Onondaga territory.
Our replica belts are made on a loom using glass beads and braided sinew. Our real Wampum belts and Wampum strings are made using real Quahog Shell Wampum beads and all natural stringing material such as deer hide or hemp.
The purpose of making replica belts is to make sure that the words of our ancestors, put into the original belts many years ago, will never be forgotten.
The original belts are ancient artifacts and therefore cannot be shown or brought out into the public very often.
Ken can replicate any Wampum Belt or make a custom belt to your specifications. Just send a picture or description of the design you want and Ken will make it for you.
