Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape - Lenape History in Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware

Lenape History in Southern New Jersey and Northern Delaware

The Lenape ancestors of the modern tribe are those who inhabited present-day New Jersey, Delaware, southeastern New York and eastern Pennsylvania at the time of European encounter, called themselves Lenni-Lenape, which means "Original People" or "Common People." From the early 17th century, the English settlers called the Lenape people “Delaware Indians” after their location along the river which the English named the Delaware after one of their own leading figures. The ancestors of the Lenni-Lenape were likely the succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples whom archeologists have found lived in the area for as much as 12,000 years.

The Lenape were divided among speakers of three major dialects, with language groups occupying particular territories. Each major group was made up of smaller independent but interrelated communities or bands; together they occupied territory from the northern part of the tribe's ancient homeland at the headwaters of the Delaware River, down to the Delaware Bay, and north into New Jersey, the area around New York City and western Long Island. The Munsee (People of the Stony Country) lived in the north. The Unami (People Down River) and Unalachtigo (People Who Live Near the Ocean) lived in the central and southern part of the homeland.

The Lenni-Lenape are historically part of the Algonquian language family, as are most of the indigenous peoples along the eastern coast. The Lenape are called the “grandfathers” or “ancient ones” by many Algonquian tribes. They are considered to have developed as one of the earliest northeastern nations. The European colonists often relied on the Lenape to settle disputes among neighboring tribal groups, and admired them for their hospitality and diplomatic skill.

In the eighteenth century, the British colonists set aside the Brotherton Reservation (1758–1802) in Burlington County, New Jersey for the Lenape, but colonists continued to encroach on their territory. In 1802 the Lenape migrated from this area to Utica, New York, where they joined the remnant Stockbridge-Munsee for a period. Together they accepted relocation to Wisconsin.