Wampum ceremony affirms shared principles

Over the past year, the Faculty of Arts welcomed four new faculty members as part of the Black Faculty and Indigenous Faculty Cluster Hiring Initiative. Among the four new faculty members is Jay Havens, a multi-media Two-Spirit artist, educator, collaborator and proud citizen of the Mohawk (Kanien’kehà:ka) Bear Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River.  

On June 8, Havens presented a Wampum belt to the Department of Communication Arts as a living contract of their appointment at the University. Havens’ handcrafted Wampum belt represents a contract of “good-minded relationship” between Havens as a new faculty member and the University. The ceremony marked a significant moment for Waterloo, where Havens’ Wampum belt was the first to be presented to a department on campus. 

The Wampum belt ceremony took place in the Theatre of the Arts inside the Modern Languages building with attendees from the Dean of Arts Office, Communication Arts, the Office of Indigenous Relations and Indigenous community members gathered in a ceremonial circle on stage where Havens presented the Wampum Belt to the department. 

“When I was offered this position, I knew I wanted to exchange a Wampum belt because it’s a longer appointment than just a contract employee,” Havens said. “Also being on a traditional territory of the Haldimand Tract, I thought it would be very relevant to me and my job security where I can work in a cultural way is something I really appreciate.” 

Ka’nikonhri:yo (the “Good-minded Relationship”) is a living contract that stands for peace, friendship and respect, represented by the Wampum belt which will be present during significant moments of Havens’ appointment at the University. The Wampum belt will convey the conditioning principles of the signed contract with Waterloo’s vice-president academic and provost, James W.E. Rush, at important reviews and discussions among colleagues. 

Wampums are purple and white beads made from natural shells, such as clam and quahog shells, that are then threaded onto strings to make a belt. Indigenous communities have created Wampum belts for ceremonial purposes such as marking an agreement between people — a representation that stands as a living contract relationship.  

A Wampum belt handcrafted by Jay Havens which was presented to the Department of Communication Arts.

Havens explained that Wampum ceremonies were accepted among Indigenous and settler communities as a way of making agreements. The original inhabitants of what many First Nations people refer to as ‘Turtle Island’ co-signed treaties as an agreement with the crown and other nations, who recognized this agreement to represent peace, friendship and respect. 

At last week’s ceremony, the Wampum belt was carefully passed around where each attendee had the opportunity to see and hold the belt up-close. Havens designed the Wampum belt to have a bead work that resembled a calendar — seven beads down to represent each day of the week and 52 beads across for each week of the year — while the strings and beads were specifically chosen to represent the Waterloo community, the Grand River and the traditional territory of the Haldimand Tract. 

“You can see there are two purple lines in the middle of the Wampum belt, one line represents Indigenous cultures and the other represents separate cultures,” Havens said.  

“The idea is that we each have a boat going down a river together and although you've got your own items in your own boat, there's a rope connecting these two boats together. If something wrong were to happen, one of those cultures can shape the rope to help one another.” 

Jay Havens officially hands the Wampum belt three times to Dr. Grit Liebscher, interim chair of Communication Arts, following cultural practice among Indigenous communities.

On behalf of the provost, Dr. Christine McWebb, associate vice-president of Faculty, Planning and Policy, read the signed Statement of Shared Principles contract between Havens and the University, with everyone in attendance as witnesses. Havens officially handed the Wampum belt three times to Dr. Grit Liebscher, interim chair of Communication Arts, following cultural practice among Indigenous communities.  

Havens’ Wampum belt ceremony served as a reminder of Waterloo’s commitment to indigenization and building long-term relationships with Indigenous peoples and communities based in respect and reciprocity. Having ceremonies on campus helps build a deeper relationship with the Indigenous community as partners on Waterloo’s journey working towards Truth and Reconciliation.