Delaware
- Also called:
- Lenni Lenape or Lenape
- Key People:
- David Brainerd
- Frank Gouldsmith Speck
- Related Topics:
- Northeast Indian
Delaware, a confederation of Algonquian-speaking North American Indians who occupied the Atlantic seaboard from Cape Henlopen, Delaware, to western Long Island. Before colonization, they were especially concentrated in the Delaware River valley, for which the confederation was named. However, the people traditionally refer to themselves as Lenape or Lenni Lenape, meaning “real people.” Traditionally, the Delaware depended primarily on agriculture, with hunting and fishing as important additions to their economy. Summer farming communities numbered several hundred persons; in winter, smaller family bands traveled throughout smaller territories to hunt. Delaware individuals were members of one of three clans, based on maternal ...(100 of 332 words)