The Huron Gift to Kahnawà:ke
1677
 
<>This wampum belt was given to the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke by the Hurons of Lorette (Wendake), circa 1677.
This was the year Kateri Tekakwitha arrived at the mission village after leaving the original Kahnawà:ke in the Mohawk Valley.
For years it was kept at the church in Kahnawà:ke until it was stolen some time ago. 
Rumors suggest that the belt was taken apart and recycled for some unknown purpose.

The belt is mentioned in Volume 63 of the Jesuit Relations:

“This year will be remarkable for a celebrated present which was sent from lorette to the Sault.
It was a hortatory collar which conveyed the voice of the Lorette people to those of the Sault,
encouraging them to accept the faith in good earnest, and to build a chapel as soon as possible;
 and it also exhorted them to combat the various demons who conspired for the ruin of both missions.
This collar was at once attached to one of the beams of the chapel, which is above the top of the altar,
so that the people might always behold it and hear that voice.”

 
The pictures below are actual photos of the belt, taken from a postcard available at the Catholic church in Kahnawà:ke,
the 1922 book “Historic Caughnawaga,” and a newspaper article, respectively.

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