For the love of Dentalium

Dentalia, dainty elephant tusk-like shells, have been highly prized by Indigenous peoples in North America for centuries. Serving as currency, status symbols and sacred objects, they became a valued trade item from the Pacific Northwest coast that included Great Plains tribes. The smooth, white shells retain a deep cultural and spiritual significance today.

This feature was filed on April 30, 2025

Pacific Northwest nations once held a central role in the dentalium shell trade network, harvesting the tusk mollusk from the ocean. Prized by many inland Native nations, a trade network led the tiny shells to tribes such as the Lakota, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara and Ojibwe. But that historic, traditional supply chain no longer exists. It’s been supplanted by new traders, not from the Pacific Ocean but from the Arabian Sea. Today, Native peoples are connected to fishermen in India who harvest the tusk shells to meet demand in the U.S. and Canada.

Buffalo’s Fire interviewed scientists, historians, vendors, and artists, all of whom explained how the long-prized dentalium shells remain in demand after centuries of use. They are used to embellish clothing and to make adorned items such as hair ties, earrings, and capes. We also traveled to India to visit the fishermen there who are now part of the modern-day dentalium trade network. Just as our Native ancestors coveted the tusk shells, the pursuit and use of dentalium shells lives on.

Dentalium Trade Timeline