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  They Call Us Many Things. We Are Lenape.

Some of the old families, such as mine, are able to trace First Nation
ancestry easily simply by looking through family Bibles. Everything
important was kept in the family Bible: weddings, births, deaths,
sicknesses, agreements, settlements, trade receipts, land purchases, plats
of neighboring land, lists of dry goods, farm tools, seeds and purchases.
Most importantly, the family Bible contains the names and photographs of
relatives. My great grandfather's Bible was a treasure of family history,
complete with a photograph of my great-great grandmother, a Lenape/Nanticoke
woman and a later photograph of her immediate family that included nearly
thirty people.

Lenape means original people. Their history is nearly erased from our
present day texts, replaced by a history written from the perspective of
politics and bias, based on greed. Greed that is instilled and
perpetrated by government funding and allotments; greed that separates First
Nation people, especially today. It is my opinion that Lenape do not have a
need for this money.  To take this money is to accept all actions made
to discredit our existence, to remove our history and void our natural claim
to this Nation's land. It is an offer that we refuse.

Lenape were, before the sixteenth century, under the Iroquois Confederation.
Before and during this period, they were a highly developed culture with
communities that included a great hall, a central building for government,
agricultural and spiritual meetings. Lenape communities included separate
buildings for trade, food storage, cooking, children's education, medical
purposes and a building for teaching war tactics. The Lenape communities
also included single-family dwellings for newly weds and elders. The central
and largest building was used for gatherings to celebrate engagements,
weddings, births, spring festival and annual harvest.

Lenape were feared for their warrior skills and known for their abilities,
wisdom and spiritual strength. Lenape are called Grandfather and Great
Grandfather because Lenape are believed to be the oldest and most respected
tribe. Lenape are called Turtle people, also a name of great honour because
it was generally and widely accepted as the creation theory. During the
Great migration, Lenape migrated south to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland
and Delaware. Lenape built long houses.  They did not live in tents.  In
the center of their communities vineyards and gardens surrounded the main
hall or Great building. Lenape were renamed by early Dutch and English
settlers for the areas in which they lived. They were named according to
words of the Lenape (Algonquin) language that meant river, mountain, stream,
etc.  Lenape that migrated to the southern part of Delaware and the Delmarva
Peninsula were often called Nanticoke, Roanoke, Pocomoke, derivatives of
other tribal languages or associations.

During the seventeenth century, the Lenape came into contact with the
settlers. There were many marriages between Lenape women and the settlers
who arrived from England, France, Italy, Belgium and Germany. Lenape were
a peaceful people who lived close to nature, who believe in one great spirit that
unites all things of nature. In the Lenape tribe, until the mid 1600's, women
were the head of household. They owned the houses and owned the land.  They
were the teachers of children and handled all legal business, including trade,
treaties, household matters and signed all official documents.

The men were responsible for farming, raising children, protecting and providing
for their community and families.  The men were spiritual leaders, hunters,
fisherman and farmers. They raised corn, beans, tomatoes and squash, which
were the staples of their diet.  Lenape men wore long hair tied in a tail. They
were clean-shaven and wore deerskin pants and shirts. Lenape women wore
deerskin dresses and wore their long hair in single braids, loose or in a style
of two moons (buns on each side of their head) embellishments (shells, feathers,
beads) were usually reserved for events like spiritual offerings, engagements or
weddings.  Lenape men and women wore deerskin shoes, boots and capes.  In
winter months, they wore furs and fur-lined boots. Lenape dresses had large collars
and shawls, which were decorated with feathers and shells.

Many Lenape descendants live on the Eastern Shore. They are called the "old"
families who often trace their origins to the Nanticoke or other known tribes like
Chesapeake and the Tidewater people.

Lenape were feared, mistakenly so, because they hold the belief that all
living things have significant energy that communicates and connects with
the human spirit. Lenape were basically feared for their natural power to
utilize nature and elements.

Eventually Lenape were forced to give up the old ways or be exiled from
their land. If they were recognized as being original people, their children
would be forced to attend classes to teach them English and Christianity.
They were also forced to adapt the dress, language and culture of the white
settlers. This included the difficult and strenuous process of accepting
these new religious practices, and letting go of the Natural Way of the
Great Spirit.

- Deborah Russell 2000 © 2003

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