Background Station Answers The Leni-Lenape Tribe Background Station Answers

Background Name meant “original people” Believed to be first tribe of the Algonquin people Lived in the Eastern Woodlands Eventually they lost their land and became part of the Cherokee tribe but were recognized as their own tribe in 1996. Approximately 11,000 members today

Location 3 Clans – Unami, Unalachtgos, Monsey Shared hunting ground with the Shawnee, Conoy, and Nanticokes Enemies were the 5 Nations of the Iroquois Located in what today is NJ, DE, and PA

Food Ate fish, corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, nuts, and berries They hunted deer Slash and burn – cut trees and then burnt them, planted their crops in the ash

Dress and Language Women – wore their hair in braids or buns, wore long leather dresses Men – shaved their head with one lock, wore knee length shirts and leggings made of leather Spoke Algonquin and Iroquoian

Family Men – hunt, protect, clear the fields Female – farm, make clothing, gather nuts and berries, ground corn, watch children Lived in small villages of 10-50 people Oldest woman held position of importance (matrilineal) Made their wigwams of bark and poles

Government An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth Land, air, and water owned by everyone and no one Great Spirit

Transportation Mostly went by foot Canoe was sometimes used