Land of the Lenape Long ago New Jersey was part of an ancient land called Lenapehoking which means Land of the Lenape For twelve thousand years the Lenape lived peacefully in small villages along its many rivers and streams Lenape means the common people Sometimes they are called the Lenni-Lenape which loosely translates We the people Now they are called the Delaware for the Delaware River which runs through the heart of their ancestral homeland The Lenape were divided into several areas Those north of the Raritan River including 3
the Delaware Water Gap were the Munsee or people from Minisink the stony place Those south of the Raritan were called the Unami or the downriver people Further south along the Atlantic Coast and Delaware Bay were the Unalachtigo or people near the ocean The Delaware River connected all three groups The Lenape built dugout canoes from the trunks of tulip and elm trees for travel and trade Some were large enough to carry 20 people and were used in the bays and along the Atlantic Coast There were also many woodland pathways that crisscrossed the for est floor and connected the villages Some main trails like the Minisink Trail led from the mountains down to the shore where the Lenape would gather each summer to collect clams oysters and scallops Then they made beads and wampum from the shells 4
Lenape houses were round or oblong made of sapling poles and covered with bark and woven mats There was a smoke hole left in the top and the door faced east to greet the rising sun Everyone worked hard Men and older boys did the hunting fishing and heavy work Women and children tended gardens gathered wild berries and nuts and prepared the food and clothing 5
