Elizabeth James-Perry styled this circular medallion after Metacomet’s Leadership Medallion. Metacomet (1638–1676) was the Wampanoag sachem also known as King Philip. The conflict called King Philip’s War occurred between 1675–1676 between Metacomet’s forces and British colonists, who considered the Wampanoag defense of their own territory to be acts of aggression. Through the creation and naming of this work, James-Perry positions Metacomet as an honorable leader of his people and reclaims his Wampanoag name. The medallion shape is a rarely made form—intricately carved beads are arranged to form a complex circular pattern that is sewn onto leather. A respected knowledge holder and a marine biologist, James-Perry has expertise in wampum making that is nearly unmatched in her community. For this necklace she hand-carved each bead from wampum (quahog shell) and dyed the deerskin using natural dyes made from materials she harvested, sometimes from her own garden where she cultivates the plants needed for her creative process.