THE LENAPE STORY

    The story of the Lenape or Delaware Indians is a tragic but courageous epic of a people who from the early 1600's struggled to maintain their identity, their language, their land and their lives.  This struggle continues to present day.

    Recorded history of the pure or original people, as the Lenape were known, begins in New Jersey, parts of Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania.  They were divided geographically into three distinct clans;  the Wolf, the Turtle, and the Turkey (Unami, Unilachago, Munsee).  This animal totem was a symbol of good luck and could be found in all their artistry, however, the animal itself was not worshipped.  The clans were further divided into twelve families each with female names as the Lenape are a matriarchal people.  They viewed the land as they did air or water and had no concept of ownership.

    The differences in geography produced variations in dialect and culture but they recognized themselves as one tribe.  They lived in harmony with their surrounds and utilized the gifts of the Great Spirit for everything.  Their individual ceremonies were based on the space they occupied and the events of the time.  They gave thanks to the spirits that provided for them and knew nothing of devils or original sin.  They were highly respected by the Six Nations and other tribes of the East and regarded all as their relations.  The Wyandots were considered their brothers.

    When the Lenape first saw the European ships on the horizon they thought they were some sort of strange bird.  Never had they seen such a vessel.  The people were like no other they had encountered and the language foreign to their ears.  The weapons and tools were far superior to any the Lenape had used.  They welcomed this strange brother from a far away place and granted him the little land he asked for to raise his family.  Since they had no concept of owning land they signed deeds and treaties readily, first with the Dutch then the British.  They at first believed they were signing a pact of peace which allowed the Europeans to share the land with them.  It did not take long to discover their error.  The European believed they owned the land by right of discovery.  They recognized the Indians right to occupy the land until it was surrendered by deed, treaty or conquest.  There soon was no doubt that the British would seize the land if necessary.

    Alcohol played a major role in negotiations.  The New Jersey, New York and Delaware Lenape were the first to lose their lands.  They were reduced to a gypsy-like existence outside the newly established towns.  They sold brooms, baskets, wooden bowls and spoons to the settlers and there was an acute sense of insecurity and inferiority among a people who had once been a proud and respected member of a great nation.  In some, the sense of shame produced a belligerent, resentful denial of authority and alcohol was widely consumed.  Many people died violently and many more were victims of smallpox which ravaged the tribe on several occasions.  The Lenape blamed the British for infecting them but had no recourse.  Today we know that General Jeffrey Amherst, the English Governor General of North America in a letter to Colonel Henry Bouquet asked if some way were not possible to give the smallpox to the disaffected tribes.  He said that they must use every stratagem in their power to reduce their numbers.  Colonel Bouquet replied that he would try to spread the epidemic by distributing blankets used by smallpox patients.  The Lenape were ravaged by smallpox in 1637-1638, 1661-1663, and again in 1667.  By the late 1600's, most of the remaining clans migrated west of the Delaware River and joined the still aboriginal Delaware's as their guest.  The land was in Pennsylvania in the neighborhood of the Lehigh River and reached north from Tohiccon Creek to the Kittatinny Mountains.  Here the lineages of the sachems, Menakihikon, Tisheconk, Lappawinze and Nutimus lived from beyond recorded history.  The Europeans had not yet seen these rolling, wooded hills and valleys except for a few traders and the owners of the newly built Durham Furnace.  It would not be long before settlers would start encroaching on this land too.  Captain Harris established himself as chief man of one village named Pocopoco in the Lehigh gap and Captain John established himself at Welagameka near the present town of Nazareth.

    The land was beautiful and there was plenty of game.  Captain John Harris's people established a peach orchard at Welagameka.  When the settlers started to intrude, the Lenape chiefs complained to the government in Philadelphia to stop them.  But William Penn and his sons John and Thomas evaded their complaints and pushed for a treaty.  Publicly the Penn's pleaded with the colonists not to abuse the natives but to wait and they would legally gain the land.  Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and part owner of the Durham Furnace and a good friend of William Penn, James Logan produced a treaty dated 1686 saying these lands too had been sold but the boundary was not specified.  The treaty supposedly relinquished all land within a day and a half's walk up river.  The Lenape were shocked but the British found ten Iroquois who swore they had witnessed the signing (Nutimus and Tishecunk said they did not remember their ancestors selling the land).  The British were used to dealing with a selected leader and the Lenape had no such leader.  The Chiefs of the individual clans did not hold an elevated position over the tribe but were sought in council for their wisdom and humanity.  Often, they were the poorest member of the tribe since they could not in good conscience prosper until every member of the tribes was provided for.  The British could not tolerate this lack of leadership and negotiating with a whole tribe so they started proclaiming anyone they could secure a signature from a chief.

    The Penn's already knew where they wanted the boundary to be.  They had the land surveyed and cleared in preparation for the walk and then hired two of the fastest men who ran as much as was humanly possible and covered fifty five miles in the allotted time (this is known as the famous "Walking Purchase").  To the Lenape, a walk included stopping to hunt, to eat, to smoke the pipe and to enjoy the gifts of the Great Spirit.  They accused the government of cheating and tried to fight back but the land was awarded to the Penn's for outright seizure.  Nutimus tried to fight back but his land, Captain Johns village Welagameka, Tishecunk and Lappawinzoes home at Hociun Doquen along the Lehigh lay in the area given to the Penn's for outright seizure.  Popoco, Meniolagomeka and other settlements north of the mountains were given to the Six Nations.  Chief Justice Logan had a private financial interest in Nutimus's land.  He was a Quaker who had come to Pennsylvania with William Penn and had amassed an estate at Stenton outside Philadelphia.  He made a fortune in land investments and fur.  His partner was Edward Shippen.  The Durham Ironworks was running out of timber to fires its furnaces and Nutimus's land was rich in timber and surrounded the Durham tract.  When the Penns seized the land, they leased it to Durham as the Penns were the only one allowed to buy Indian land.

    In 1741, a large tract of the land was sold to the Moravians (European religion originating in Moravia, Czeckoslovakia).  In December of that year, Count von Zinzendorf of Herrnhut, Saxony established the Moravian settlement of Bethelem.  The Moravians based their religion on the New Testament.  Their simple Christian teaching and exemplary moral life and work ethic attracted many Lenape who felt protected by them.  The Moravians, however, were not the favored religion of the time so again they were to suffer persecution.

    By 1742, most of the Lenape were moving further into Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River.  The French had Fort Duquesen and more militant Lenape were helping them to fight the British.  Many Lenape supported the French whom they saw as the lesser of two evils in view of the recent treaties with the British.  Many of these warrior Lenape visited their relations in the Moravian settlements which brought suspicion on the Moravian as being spies for the French.  These were violent times with both the French and British courting the various tribes with promises of land, wealth and sovereignty.  The missionaries were preaching peace but there was war erupting all around them and the religion of these strange people from the east was not helping them to get along with the colonists either.

    The British under the leadership of Colonel John Armstrong attacked Kittaning in Pennsylvania burning the village and killing many of the occupants.  In 1758, Fort Duquesne was lost to General Forbes who established Fort Pitt or the present day city of Pittsburgh.  The remaining Lenape once again tried to make peace with the British.  This was not an easy task since in April of 1757 Governor Robert Morris of Pennsylvania offered cash bounties for scalps of Delaware's as did Governor Jonathan Belcher of New Jersey who issued the same Proclamation.  Warrior Lenape had been making raids into New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  The Lenape began migrating further west and now were establishing settlements in Ohio.  The Moravian missionaries David Zeisberger, David Brainerd and John Heckeweldere helped establish three Moravian settlements there.  Once again the Brethren would be under suspicion of spying but this time for the British.  Once again war was erupting all around the Lenape.  Settlers were always right behind them and now the colonist were fighting the mother country.  Once again the courting began.  The Lenape were determined to remain neutral this time but that would not be easy.  There was still a warrior faction of lenape and they were making raids on the settlers from their camps in the woods.  They had no patience with their Christian relatives and repeatedly warned them that one day the white man would turn on them and kill them.  The Moravian's felt these prophets exerted evil influence over the Christian Lenape but did not bar them from visiting their relations.  The Moravians studied the language and published dictionaries and Christian hymns in Lenape in hopes of reaching more of the people.  At the settlement in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, they had converted over a hundred Lenape who were living with the Brethren and tending to the farm.  They tried to encourage their warrior relations to join them and many did come to hear the Brethren speak.  They were much inspired by their sermons and felt peaceful while in their camp but it was merely an oasis in the reality of their situation.  They repeatedly warned their Christian brothers to beware and feared for their lives as they knew the hatred of the colonists and that conversion to Christianity did not change these feelings.  In addition to this hatred, they also endured the scorn of the Six Nations who were in favor with the Colonists for being on their side during the wars with the French.  The Six Nations did not want this friendship damaged by the defeated tribes.  They too were trying to maintain their lands and now the American revolution was at hand and all must again decide whom to support.  The Six Nations were on the side of the Americans but the Lenape were still trying to stay neutral.  The Colonists had never given them anything but trouble and they trusted neither side.  Many ended up fighting with the British.

   The Lenape, Wyandots, Shawnee and many others had lost everything and they knew they would soon have to leave Ohio.  They were bitter and alcohol was an increasing problem.  They made raids on colonists when they couldn't find game.  The colonists hated them and wanted them removed.  The war was over, the Americans victorious and they wanted to get on with their dreams but there was still this Indian problem.  When several settlers were murdered the colonist took the law into their own hands and rounded up the Christian Indians at the Moravian settlement of Gnadenhutten, or Huts of Grace, trying them with the crimes and sentencing them to death.  They secured them in two of the buildings on the property, giving them one final night before they would be executed.  All night the 98 Lenape prayed and sang hymns that the Brethren had taught them.  The next morning they were clubbed to death in these rooms.  Only two small boys survived the ordeal neither knowing the other had lived.

   After this, negotiations began for relocation and by 1800 the main body of the tribe moved on into Indiana where they camped along the west fork of the White River.  The Miami's were already living here and welcomed the Lenape to join them.  They knew a few years here of peace but again the colonist began encroaching and more negotiations ensued.  The St. Mary's treaty of 1818 forced them on into Missouri.  By 1822, the main body of the tribe were living on a tract along the James Fork of the White River.  This new home would only last until 1830 when the government granted 2 million acres in Kansas to the Lenape.  This was to be theirs forever but about 50 years later the land was again lost and we were removed to Oklahoma.