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Kristen Daniel (0:00)
The wampum belt is a handcrafted item that is designed to illustrate tribal stories and represent significant events in Native American history. This particular belt was created by the Tuscarora nation and tells the story of the Nooherooka battle. The battle of Nooherooka took place in 1713 during the Tuscarora war, and resulted in the death of over 900 natives. As any natives left were either sold into slavery or forced from their land, the battle eliminated Tuscarora presence in eastern North Carolina. The Nooherooka wampum belt was presented to the people of North Carolina in 2013 as part of Nooherooka 300. This event was hosted by East Carolina University and commemorated the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Nooherooka. ECU rests upon lands occupied by the Tuscarora over 1000 years ago, and the site of the battle is roughly 30 miles from campus.
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The belt was presented by Neal Patterson Sr. of the Tuscarora nation who stated, "We want to present to the people of North Carolina that we come in humility. We come with forgiveness in our hearts to remember these things. What man can do to another man should never be done again." The belt was accepted on behalf of the people of North Carolina by ECU Provost Marilyn Sheerer. The wampum belt itself is comprised of 777 quahog shell beads in shades of cream and purple. The beads are bound together using a fibrous material from the alimentary canal of a whitetail deer. According to Patterson, the zigzagging of the beads across the belt represents a wandering. The belt is currently housed in the Special Collections division of Joyner library as part of the University Archives repository. It is available for research and educational use and can be accessed in person at the library or online through ECU's Digital Collections.