Indian Peace Medals in American History

Silver medals, designed for presentation to Indian chiefs and warriors, played a prominent part in American Indian policy.  Known as Indian Peace Medals, these tokens of friendship and symbols of allegiance belong not only to the history of Indian-white relations in the United States but to our artistic heritage as well, for the government took great pains to see that the medals were of high merit. Among the Indians the medals were cherished possessions, to be buried with the chiefs or passed down from generation to generation.   President Thomas Jefferson spoke of the use of medals among the Indians as “an ancient custom from time immemorial” which had its beginnings in the European practice of giving medals to “the negotiators of treaties and other diplomatic characters, or visitors of distinction.”