Native American Indians North Of Mexico - 1694 Words

The Lenape Indians are the natives of New Jersey and were around well before any of the explorers or our ancestors came to the area. They had a society rich of culture, traditions, beliefs and customs. They are one of the largest Indian tribes on the east coast, containing three primary divisions or clans. Frederick Hodge (1907) worked for the Bureau of American Ethnology and has done extensive research on the topic of Native Americans. Hodge compiled a detailed reference book called The Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, which gives detailed histories on many of the American Indian tribes. According to Hodge, the Lenape or Delaware Indians were an Indian society based from the Delaware area all the way to southern New York in†¦show more content†¦The Munsee clan or Wolf tribe are one of the three clans of the Lenape Indian tribe. They are often called the people of stony country because of their geographical region. Their language is very different in dialect com pared to the other clans of the Lenape, which is why they are often regarded as their own tribe at times. The Munsee are the farthest north on the Delaware river. They occupied the headwater region of the Delaware river which represents northern New Jersey, Central New York and Eastern Pennsylvania. Minisink is the main council village for the Munsee and is the barrier between the Munsee and the Unalachtigo. Minisink is located in the Minisink Valley which is on the Delaware river in northern New Jersey (which is now Sussex county) Eastern Pennsylvania, and southern New York. New York (Hodge 1907). The second clan of the Lenape Indians was the Unami Tribe. Unami roughly translates into â€Å"the people down the river†. They are often called the turkey tribe of the Lenape Indians. They were based in central New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. The tribe is closely related to the Unalachtigo tribe in dialect and traditions. By the early seventeen-hundreds, the Unalachtigo tribe was completely dissolved into the Unami tribe. (Weslager 1987) The last clan of the Lenape Indians is called the Unalachtigo clan or the turkey tribe. Unalachtigo roughly translates to â€Å"the people near the ocean†. They are the southernmost tribe