Kanièn:ke Karonwarà:ke
Mohawk Territory on the Internet

No Iroquois chief would listen to a messenger or pay attention to a report until he received official information through a runner who carried the proper wampum string or belt. Wampum guaranteed a message or a promise. Treaties meant nothing unless they were accompanied by wampum.

Tehanetorens
Wampum Belts of the Iroquois

Kwe kwe! She:kon! Wa’tkwanonhwerá:ton!

My name is Darren Bonaparte and I am from the Mohawk community of Ahkwesáhsne on the St. Lawrence River.  I’m not so much a historian as a historical journalist—someone trying to get to the truth about history rather than bore you to tears with the trivia of it.  Mohawk history is an awesome subject, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Mohawk, or because I flunked Mohawk math and science.

I created the Wampum Chronicles website in 1999 as a way of promoting my research into the history and culture of the Rotinonhsión:ni—the People of the Longhouse.  Around this time I began to make wampum belt reproductions and used them in presentations I gave at schools, colleges, conferences and festivals throughout the US and Canada.  I must have done a half decent job of it, because in 2003 I was asked to serve as a historical advisor for a PBS documentary about the French and Indian War.  I have been involved with several other TV projects since then.

In 2006, I published my first solo book project, Creation & Confederation: The Living History of the Iroquois, which was the result of my research into the many published versions of the traditional creation story and the Peacemaker legend, the two “epics” of Rotinonhsión:ni culture.  In 2009, I published the follow-up, A Lily Among Thorns: The Mohawk Repatriation of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha.  This was a study of European contact and colonization at the Eastern Door of the Longhouse that culminated with the life of Káteri Tekahkwí:tha, the Lily of the Mohawks.

Lately, I’ve been burning up the roads doing wampum belt presentations and book signings in New York, Vermont, Ontario, and Quebec, but hopefully I will get back to writing again and finish the next two books in the series.

To celebrate the Wampum Chronicles’ tenth year online, I thought I would strip it down and give it a new coat of paint.  I’ve created a few new pages to promote some of my projects, and have revamped a few of the existing pages so that they’re a little easier on the eyes.  The old homepage and its Atari Space Invaders look is history!

Darren Bonaparte
August, 2009


The Wampum Chronicles offers you a glimpse into history with a recreated 18th century treaty council, complete with 18 wampum belt reproductions that tell the story of the Mohawk Nation. I have been doing these living history presentations for over a decade and see no reason to slow down now.
To arrange a visit of the Wampum Chronicles to your school, college, or special event, scroll down to the bottom of this page and jot down the email address you see listed there.
Send me an email but please write PRESENTATION in the heading to make sure I see it.
Then go to the pay phone at 3rd and Main and await my call.



The Wampum Chronicles is now a publishing empire! When you’re named Bonaparte, empires just go with the territory.
My books are a natural extension of the Wampum Chronicles style: an all-out cage match with Mohawk history. Those looking for a feel-good romp through the daisy fields of yesteryear should probably look elsewhere. Click on the icons below to read more about the books and how to buy them online, in stores, or by mail order.


Cesare di Bonesana Beccaria once said, Happy is the nation without a history. Oops! My bad! I went and gave my nation a history. While I'm busy wondering how on earth I will ever make this up to everyone, feel free to sit back and read some of the materials I've accumulated here at the Wampum Chronicles for the last ten years. I'm in the process of cleaning up the older pages to make them easier for you to read on your BlackBerry as you drive.


The Great Epic

The Rotinonhsón:ni Through the Eyes of Teharonhia:wako and Sawiskera by Brian Rice

NOTICE:
Due to pending publication of The Great Epic as a book,
this content has been removed from the Wampum Chronicles.
We will let you know how to order it from the publisher
when it becomes available.


Too Many Chiefs, Not Enough Indians
The History of the Three Chief System and the Constitution of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, by Darren Bonaparte

Recent Articles

Earlier Research

Historical Documents


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