DELAWARE INDIANS

History

Families were important to DELAWARE 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. This meant that a clan was made up of a matron, her sisters and brothers, all her sons and daughters, and the daughter's children. The sons had to marry women from other clans, and their children then belonged to their mother's clan.

What did the Delaware Indians Live in?

Delaware Indian living quarters were grass and bark covered longhouses.Each village contained a sweathouse for steam baths.Sweating in steam baths was the usual remedy for disease and melancholy. Following steambaths men repainted their bodies, and women painted their faces with white,yellow and red dyes. Red was usually associated with war. Most men painted red designs on themselves prior to battle.

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What are the Delaware Indian Colors? Black & red

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What were the Delaware Indians Jobs?

Delaware Indians (Lenape) made items utilizing the natural materials around them. Until the Europeans arrival , their only  tools were fashioned from shell, bone ,stone, and wood. They relied on farming for subsistence. Both men and women had important responsibilities. Men were hunters, fisherman, warriors and healers.Women w ere farmers, cooks, seamstresses and reared the children.

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How did  Delaware Indians Travel ?

Delaware Indians living near the Great Lakes their major mode of transportation was traveling by water. Skilled craftsmen, the Delaware Indians were known for their boat making. Their Umiak, kayak, and Birch bark canoes were of superior quality. Birch bark canoes were popular in the north of the U.S. Birch canoes were strong and lightweight enough to carry with ease.Canoe construction took place in spring. Delaware men cut the bark while Delaware women utilized their seamstress skills sewing the bark to build their canoes.The Pennsylvania Delaware Indians made dugout canoes.Delaware Indian dugout canoes were made by burning and scraping away the burned material of a tree.

What were the Delaware Indians Activities ?

Delaware Indians admired strength and loved  to compete with one another in contests and games.Running fast was an important skill, and races were often an important event. Boys tried their skill with the bow and arrow, or with a pole that had to be thrown through a rolling hoop. Both men and women enjoyed team games, like lacrosse. In winter, people told stories to pass the time.

Why were they Named the Delaware Indians?

The Delaware River flowed through their lands.

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What is their Language?

Each group spoke a different dialect of language that belonged to the Algonquian family.

Munsee - Means-people from Minisink(the stony country).It is also a dialect of the Delaware Indians.It was often spoken by Delaware Indians living in the lands of the lower Hudson River and upper Delaware River.area. Munsee Indians were the Wolf clan of the Delaware Indian tribe.White settlers drove them from the Delaware River region around 1740.They moved on and set up bark covered longhouses along the Susquehanna River.

Where did Delaware Indians Live?

Delaware Indians lived on the lands that are now Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.The Delawares were one of the two most powerful Indian groups in North America that lived in the New York region prior to the white settlers arrival.

Two tribes of the Algonquian Indians lived in the Delaware region when white explorers arrived.The Delaware tribe lived along the banks of the Delaware River. The Nanticoke lived along the Nanticoke River. By the mid 1700's white settlers forced most of the Native Americans out of the region.