PROF.

MICHAEL STAFFORD
PRESENTS
MERCY COLLEGE
Native Americans
of the Hudson




The History of the Hudson River Valley
Lenni Lenape Tribes who are Part of
the Eastern Algonquin Linguistic
group lived in the Hudson and
Delaware River Valleys.
Native
Among these tribes were the Delaware, the Mahicans, the Sint Sinc and the
Wappingers. All of them had similar ways of lives
The Land of the Lenape
The Lenape (len-AH-pay) or Delaware Indians lived in an area
they called Lenapehoking, which means Land of the
Lenape.
Their land included all of what is now New Jersey, eastern
Pennsylvania, southeastern New York State, northern Delaware
and a small section of southeastern Connecticut.
As part of the Eastern Woodlands, Lenapehoking had many
rivers, streams and lakes and was densely forested and rich in
wildlife.
We now know that two related but distinct groups of Indians
occupied Lenapehoking; Those living in the northern half
(above the Raritan River and the Delaware Water Gap) spoke a
Munsee dialect of the Eastern Algonquian Delaware language,
while those to the south spoke Unami a slightly different
dialect of the same language.
The beliefs and cultures of these two general groups, although
very similar, differed somewhat. For convenience, we will use
the word Lenape (common or ordinary people) to refer to
both the groups living in Lenapehoking.
CREATION STORY
An early account told how Tantaque took a piece of coal
out of the fire where he sat, and began to write upon the
floor.
He first drew a circle, a little oval, to which he made four
paws or feet, a head and a tail.
This, said he, is a tortoise, lying in the water around it
this was or is all water, and so at first was the world or the
earth, when the tortoise gradually raised its back up high,
and the water ran off of it, and thus the earth became dry
and there grew a tree in the middle of the earth, and the
root of this tree sent forth a sprout beside it and there grew
upon it a man, who was the first male.
This man was then alone, and would have remained alone;
but the tree bent over until its top touched the earth, and
there shot therein another root, from which came forth
another sprout, and there grew upon it the woman, and
from these two are all men produced.
THE COMMUNITY
Some of the Lenape lived in large villages of two to three hundred people, but most of
them lived in small bands of 25 to 50 people.
Families were important to the Lenape Indians. There were strong ties between parents
and children, and among all the related families that made up the clan.
The Lenape had three clans Wolf, Turtle and Turkey which traced their descent
through the female line. For example, if a mother belonged to the Turtle Clan, then each
of her children also belonged to the same clan. The sons had to marry women from
other clans, and their children belonged to their mothers clan.
Within their own groups the Indians were kind to one another. They felt a sense of
responsibility towards everyone in their community. They did not steal from anyone in
their own village, for there was no reason to do so. The land belonged to the whole
community, shelters were shared, and no one hoarded valuable possessions.
Many of the groups inhabiting Lenapehoking had well-organized ways of governing their
clans and villages. The chiefs sometimes referred to as sachems - were chosen for their
behavior, skill in speaking, honesty, and ability to make wise decisions. The chiefs also
had to know about religion so that they could lead the people in rituals and ceremonies.
War leaders were different. They gained power through proven bravery and success in
battle. They were able to gather young men together and go off on a raid without the
approval of the chief.

SHARING THE WORK
Everyone worked, but men and women were expected to do different tasks. Starting at an early
age, small children began to learn the skills they would need when they grew up. The boys were
taught woodcraft and hunting; the girls, housekeeping and gardening.
WOMENS WORK
Women were responsible for the planting and harvesting of crops and gathering wild foods. Some of the
crops were eaten as soon as it was harvested, but much of it - together with wild foods like berries, roots and
nuts - were dried for winter use. The women pounded corn into flour by using a mortar and pestle. Nuts
could be ground up and baked, or were pressed to squeeze out their oil, which was used in cooking. Maple
syrup was made by collecting sap from maple trees in early spring and boiling it down.
Women were skilled at making clay pots, weaving rush mats and bags, and making baskets. They wove
cornhusks for slippers, mats and dolls, and made containers from elm and birch bark. With fibers from
plants, they spun and braided cords for binding and carrying bundles. Women were also responsible for
preparing the hides for clothes and shelters. With bone tools, they scraped the hair from the hides and
cleaned them. Then they smoked them over a fire, cut them into pieces and sewed the pieces with bone
needles.
MENS WORK
Trapping was another means by which the Lenape caught animals like beaver, otter, muskrat, raccoon,
mink and wild cats. Turkey, eagle and other birds like partridge, pigeon, wild ducks and geese were also
shot or caught in traps to be part of the Lenape diet.

Men were good warriors and sometimes had to go to war to defend their homes, but left the
management of the house to their wives and often listened to the advice of the chief matron of his
lineage in matters of peace and war.
Men cleared the land, built and repaired the houses, and made dugout canoes by felling large trees and
chopping through then to achieve the right shape. They constructed fishweirs and the large fish baskets
to gather the catch. Using bows and arrows, the men hunted a variety of animals, although deer, elk and
bear were the Lenapes largest prey. Deer were often hunted by surrounding or herding them into pens
or rivers. This method involved many people forming into a large a circle as possible and by using fire or
noise to drive the animals to the hunters where they could be easily killed.
Shelters and Villages
The Lenape made dome-shaped houses called wigwams where a small family or individual could live.
They pushed a circle of poles into the ground and then bent them over one another to make a domed frame, which
they covered with sheets of bark, skins or woven rush mats.
Sometimes several families lived together in a larger longhouse, still rounded on top, but longer.
The Lenape lived in settled villages but did not stay in one place for the whole of theirInside House lives.
Every ten or twelve years they had to move their entire village to a new site because they had used up many of the
natural resources of their area.
The Indians of Lenapehoking used different kinds of transport according to the season and the area
in which they lived. Often they simply went on foot, making their own trail or following animal
tracks or a dry streambed. Both men and women often carried heavy loads. They would rest the
bundle on their back and support some of its weight with a strap called a tumpline. This was
attached at each end to the bundle and passed in a loop around the wearers forehead.
Travel and Transportation
In summer, when streams and lakes were not frozen, it
was sometimes easier to travel by water than by
land. The Lenape used dugout canoes for this
purpose. The canoes were made from a hollowed-out
tree, which could several people.
Games
Not much is known about Lenape games and sport. Childrens toys usually consisted of
miniature tools and weapons for the boys, and cornhusk dolls, small mortars and pestles, and toy
pots for the girls. With these objects, children had fun and began to learn the skills they needed
later in life.
The Lenape also admired strength and liked to compete with one another in contests or games.
Young men wrestled or tried to see who could throw a large stone the greatest distance. To be
able to run fast was an important skill and so races were often held. Boys tried their skill with
the bow and arrow, or with a pole that had Cup and Pin Game to be thrown through a rolling
hoop. The cup and pin game, made from deer toe bones and a stick, was a favorite pastime,
and gambling appears to have been very popular. For this, pieces of bone or wild plum pits
were painted on one side and then thrown into the air from a wooden bowl. Points were scored
depending on how many of each color came up. In the moccasin game, one person would take
four moccasins and hide something under one of them; the other players would have to guess
where it was.
Both males and females enjoyed team games. Lacrosse, a very popular sport among neighboring
Indian tribes may not have been played by the Lenape. A kind of football called Pahsaheman
may also have been played. In this game, the ball was made of deerskin stuffed with hair and
both men and women engaged, though the rules were different for each sex. Men could catch
the ball but could not carry it or throw it; they had to kick it. Moreover, the men were
prohibited from tackling or grabbing the women. Women, however, could catch the ball, run
with it, pass it, or kick it, and they could tackle the men, sometimes tearing off their shirts.
Music
Musical instruments consisted of simple hide-and-water drums, bird bone whistles or possibly
wooden flutes, and rattles made of turtle shell, bark, and gourds. Dancing accompanied by
music and singing was a favorite pastime
Storytelling
Stories were often fun to listen to and in winter people told stories to pass the
time. But stories also served a serious purpose. Stories explained beliefs about
creation, past events and social values and were an important part of a childs
upbringing. Children looked forward to long winter evenings by the fire, listening
to the tales told by the Elders. Children were expected to be good listeners and
have good memories.
A Lenape Story
How a Dog Earned the Right to Eat from the Table
A long time ago there was a man who lived in a big forest. The man lived alone, except for his
dog. On many evenings they would talk together, this man and his dog. Then one day the dog
said, All right my friend, lets go hunting! It seems like I can smell many squirrels toward the
north. So they left to go squirrel hunting, this man and his friend.
While they were walking along a path the dog suddenly heard something making a rattling noise by
his path. The dog said, Stop! Stop! I hear something! It might be a rattlesnake rattling! Then
the dog grabbed the snake, and began to shake him and shook him until he had killed the snake.
Then when they had finished hunting, they went home. The man began to cook, and he fed the
dog on the ground. But finally the dog wouldnt eat; he just had a scowl on his face. The man
told the dog, Whats wrong with you? Arent you hungry? The dog replies, Oh yes, I am
hungry, but I want to what the reason is that you feed me on the ground! Why can I not eat at
the table also? The man said, Oh well, you can eat with me, you can come and sit right
here! The dog smiled. He began to eat. He was eating with his friend.