Indian Peace Medal (Jefferson)

The Indian peace medals carried by Lewis and Clark were among the most important diplomatic tools of the expedition, second only to the air rifle in their impact on Native leaders. These silver medals, bearing the profile of President Jefferson on the obverse and clasped hands with “Peace and Friendship” on the reverse, were presented to chiefs and headmen in formal council ceremonies. The medals came in three sizes — 4-inch for principal chiefs, 3-inch for secondary chiefs, and 2-inch for lesser headmen — with the size conveying the recipient’s perceived importance to American interests. The ceremony of presenting these medals, accompanied by formal speeches and demonstrations of American technology, established the diplomatic protocol the United States would follow with Native nations for decades. Many of these medals have been recovered archaeologically and are among the most prized artifacts of the expedition.