Tadodaho
$4,000

This sculpture is 44"x28"x18"

The Tadodaho Belt is the second widest wampum belt known. It measures 27 inches by 14 inches, and is 45 wampum beads wide. It symbolizes the role of the Onondaga fire keeper to keep the council fire clean and protected. The belt shows a symmetrically arranged series of large purple triangles which overlap and run the length of the belt. Along the center of the belt is a chain of fourteen white diamonds which represent a covenant of friendship among the fourteen chiefs of the Onondaga Nation. Tadodaho's role was to protect the League from matters or propositions in council that would be detrimental to the survival of the Great Law of Peace and it's Nations. It was not until Tadodaho had agreed to the Great Law of Peace with the four Nations to their east and west, that all the Onondaga would consent to it. The original 5 Nations were the Mohawks, the Oneidas, the centrally located Onondaga, the Cayuga and the Seneca.

Tadodaho was a very strong minded, spiritual man that had lived alone deep in the woods. His image on the Iroquois Condolence Staff (a carved seating chart for the Great Council) has wild hair. The Tadodaho image also represents the position of the head chief of the Men's Great Council for all gatherings. To this day, Tadodaho (Chief Leon Shenandoah) is not only the high chief of the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy, but a revered spiritual leader.

Mark highly recommends reading:
"To Become a Human Being: The Message of Tadodaho Chief Leon Shenandoah"