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Name and Description	Nation	Location
Cultural Readings - La Potherie wampum	Iroquois	US - Northeast
La Potherie, an admirer of Iroquois culture, includes this image of Iroquois wampum with this note: wampum "is their writing for making peace treaties, for diplomacy, for expressing their thoughts, for settling disputes, for condemnation or for absolution; it serves as an ornament for young warriors going to battle, who make it into bracelets and belts which they place on their white shirts."
Cultural Readings: Colonization & Print in the Americas	Iroquois	US - Northeast
No utterance of any diplomatic occasion was valid until authenticated by the exchange of wampum in the form of strings or belts. Wampum served to engender further diplomatic contact - its presentation was a gesture that required a repricocal effort on the part of the recipient. Acceptance of the gift of wampum implied the acceptance of its message. In this way, wampum functioned like a certificate. This wampum belt is an abstract representation of an alliance between two peoples, signified by the straight path running between them.