Sample Chapter – The Lenape Tribe in Indiana

Sample Chapter
The Lenape Tribe in Indiana
Lenape History

The Lenape tribe’s English name, Delaware, derives from their original homeland at the time of European settlement, the Delaware River Valley. Their name for this region was “Lenapehoking”, which means, “The Land of the Lenape”. The river was named for Thomas West, Lord de la Warr, who served as the first governor of the Jamestown colony. The tribe called themselves the Lenape, or Leni-lenápé. The name means “real men, or native-genuine men.” The French called them “Loups”, or “Wolves”. During these years of early European settlement, the Delaware had three clans, each with its own dialect of the language. These clans were the Unami (Turtle), Unalachtgo (Turkey) and Minsi (Munsee) (Wolf). The animal names represented the protective totem for the tribe. The other Algonquin tribes referred to the Lenape as “Grandfather,” in reference to the belief that all these tribes originated from the Lenape.
Munsee
The Lenape word for Munsee, Min – asin – ink, means “at the place
where stones are gathered together.” The Munsee occupied the region of the headwaters of the Delaware River in what is now Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York at the time of first contact with the Europeans. The Munsee in turn had sub clans Minisink, Warranawonkong, Mamekoting, Wawareink, and Catskill. Of these, the Minisink were the principal division. The villages situated along the Hudson River in New York were the principal bands, however the pressure of European settlement forced them to move along the Delaware River near the other clans of the Lenape. After the Walking Stick treaty, they moved to the region of the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. There the Moravians began their missions among them, and many converted to Christianity. Many of these people moved to sites in the current state of Ohio. Others migrated into the Indiana Territory. During these years the Munsee mostly merged with the other bands of the Lenape or joined the Chippawa, Shawnee and other tribes. At this time, the Munsee as a division of the Lenape faded into obscurity. Scattered bands of Munsee still exist.
First Contact with the Europeans
Dutch settlers under leader Peter Minuet were the first known Europeans to encounter the Lenape. In 1638 the Dutch purchased a tract of land from the tribe which is near Wilmington, Delaware. The Dutch established a settlement on Tinicum Island, which is near the Philadelphia International Airport.

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