Conversation so far:
What is the Hiawatha belt?
The Hiawatha Belt is made of 6,574 wampum beads - 38 rows by 173 columns and has 892 white and 5,682 purple beads.
What does it represent?
The purple represents the sky or universe that surrounds us, while the white represents purity and Good Mind (good thoughts, forgiveness and understanding).

Question: How are these made?
Self-contained rewrite: How is the wampum beads in the Hiawatha Belt made?