string of seashell beads used as money by Native Americans, 1630s, shortened from New England Algonquian wampumpeag (1620s), "string of white (shell beads);" said to be compounded from wab & [..]

n. Beads strung on threads, formerly used among the American Indians as currency.

(n) informal terms for money(n) small cylindrical beads made from polished shells and fashioned into strings or belts; used by certain Native American peoples as jewelry or currency

An Indian term for belts of small beads or shells that were used as money. Many mountain men adopted this term to mean all money.

Small beads made from polished shells, especially white ones, formerly used as money and jewelry by certain Native American peoples. (informal) Money.

The systems set up by federal and provincial law to survey and grant public lands. Three basic systems have been used in Canada, all of which affect the layout and ownership of Indian reserve lands: The SEIGNEURIAL SYSTEM of Quebec before 1854, in which grants are of relatively irregular size. They are arranged in ranges of lots, often in the “rive [..]