Wampum Stretch Bracelet

Description

This is an indigenous wampum bracelet. The beautiful hues of purple and white are stunning. Pueblo jewelry, indigenous Native American jewelry. Bracelet is a stretch bracelet

Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Native American tribes of the Eastern Woodlands. The beads are harvested from the shells of Western North Atlantic hard-shelled clams and are typically white and purple. Native Americans would harvest the clams in the summer and eat their contents before working on the shells. The process of creating wampum was long and hard, usually taking a full day to make just one bead. Shells would be ground or drilled down very carefully using rocks. Not only was the process difficult, but it was also somewhat dangerous, fine dust from the shaved off shells could cut up the lungs if ingested so Native Americans would often use water to limit the dust.

*natural wampum 10mm beads
* unisex stretch bracelet