The tribe of Delaware is know as the Lenape. Lenape means " the people."Delaware was also known as the "Grandfather" because it was said they were the oldest groups of the Algonquian tribe. The Lenape wanted peace with everyone including the Europeans. They where not aware that land could be sold. The Lenap shared their land with the weary looking Europeans. In exchange they where given tokens. The Lenape didn't know this was the purchase for the land.
The Lenape had weapons they used for war. They had clubs, tomohawks, bows and arrows, scalping knives and spears. The Lenape did not only use this for war. They used it for other purposes too. Such as fishing and hunting for game. They caught their fish with hooks made of bones, dried claws of birds, and brush nets. They used the resources they had around them. They also made arrowheads from stone.
The people of Delaware where very religious. They worshipped wolves, turkeys, and turtles. In every family the oldest child would have a symbol of the wolf tattooed on their stomach. They did this to maintain their religion. It has been said that they worshipped plants because they healed the people when they would be sick. They thought plants had magical powers. The Lenape also played football. It's not like the football we know today. The Men and Women play against each other. Men could only kick the ball and not tackle the women. The woman would run and throw the ball and do whatever they wanted to the Men. Would you want to play football like this, or are you glad it changed? =)
Men and Women of the Lenni Lenape both played important roles when it comes to food. Men would hunt for game and the women would cook it. They would also grow corn, beans, and squash, these were known as the three sisters. In the summer they ate "seafood". In the winter they had dried grains, wildlife, and squash. Basically, cooking was a part of their daily routine.
Like I said before the people of Delaware were kind enough to share their land with the Europeans. This brought peace between the people.They would trade different things. The Indians gave the Europeans fur skin. In return the Europeans gave the Indians weapons such as guns. The Europeans made allies with these people. This was a very good because there was no wars with the Europeans and Lenape.
The Lenni Lenape was thought to be exstinct. However, this is not true. There are some Lenapes spread throughout, New Jersey, Pennyslvania, Oklahoma, Wisconsion, Ontario, and Delaware.
