The students of West New York Public School No. 2 saw history come to life last week when a pair of historians, dressed in Indian garb, came to educate them about the Lenape Tribe.
Originally coming from the Asiatic north, the Lenape Tribe made their way down to the Hudson River region thousands of years ago, and settled throughout most of the tri-state area.
At the time, West New York, and most of the North Hudson, was a lush region of plants and trees inhabited by deer and bobcats. The Lenape people flourished among the woodlands of New Jersey.
Learning about the Lenape
“They were the first people that lived here in your town,” said archeologist John Kraft to a room of wide-eyed fourth graders.
Kraft, a decades long scholar of the Lenape people, headed up the presentation last week along with Tiffany Hardiman, a scholar of Jersey’s prehistory and fellow historian of the Lenape people.
“The kids were really inquisitive, well-behaved, and genuinely excited about everything we were teaching them,” said Kraft. “I could see they were learning a lot today.”
Kraft and Hardiman took the students on a visual journey of the Lenape’s history, utilizing slide shows and artifacts.
“I loved it because everything was from nature and very pretty, and it looked like it was really fun in those days,” said Angely Prieto, 10.
During a hands-on segment, the students were allowed to interact with many of the materials brought to the presentations, including a variety of traditional head dresses, masks, tools, and weapons. Except, they weren’t allowed to touch the different variety of hunting arrows. Safety first!
“Everything they were showing was exciting. I [especially] like the slide show and the arrows,” said Gerson Bonilla, 11.
The students also expressed moments of laughter and disgust, specifically when they found out that using deer brain softened animal skin for their clothing.
“They had to get everything from nature,” said Kraft. “You could only use what was in your own backyard.”
They also explained how every element from nature was used such as the animal meat, for food right down to their teeth as accessories or weaponry, and the profound respect for all of nature.
“They felt everything in nature was alive, and animals, trees, and plants were all brother s and sisters,” said Kraft.
Dressed the part
Kraft and Hardiman also dressed the part with traditional garbs of the native Lenape, and also brought examples of ceremonial masks and hunting camouflage.
Throughout the presentation, the students were asking specific questions about the different roles of members in the community, and their customs such as the “vision quests.” Those quests were a right of passage into adulthood for boys and sometimes girls, who were sent away alone for many days to fast and dream, in the hopes of meeting their spirit guide.
The Lenape people, who settled in wooded area North Hudson along the banks of the Hudson River, did not have to travel far to obtain the basic necessities for survival, which were food, shelter, clothing and water.
“The Lenape who lived here thought they had found a very special place,” said Kraft.
Every element of nature was at their disposal, including over 270 varieties of plant life. And water was particularly abundant thanks to the neighboring river, which was also available for fishing. There was also nearby access to the Atlantic Ocean.
“I didn’t know there were so many things here; it was really cool,” said Dalia Lima, 10.
Educating Jersey
The Lenape Lifeways Educational Programs visit over 150 to 200 schools statewide every year, and occasionally extends to Manhattan and Philadelphia.
Originally, Kraft and Hardiman both worked for the Delaware Water Gap Program for about eight years before starting Lenape Lifeways, which is based out of Stanhope.
“I grew up in New Jersey and I think they are a fascinating people,” said Kraft. “On TV they only show the Hollywood versions, and [the Lenape] are more pertinent to the area. They lived right here in this neighborhood.”
Among some of the programs they offer are “Little Lessons in Lenape Lifeways” for grades pre-K through first, and “Lenape Family and Village Life,” which is centered for students in second through eighth grade. Additionally there is “The Lenape-Delaware Indian Heritage,” which is a broader program for general audiences.
“The whole idea is connecting children to the reality of nature, that nature was used and was available,” said Hardiman.
Lenape still exist
The program touched on the arrival of the European English and Dutch settlers who eventually wiped out most of the Lenape Tribe. Diseases such as smallpox and confrontations with the Europeans eventually wiped out a majority of the Lenape Tribe, and forced the remaining population to leave the region.
Existing descendents today made their way across the states and settled in Oklahoma, or headed back north into Canada.
In Oklahoma, there are about 10,000 registered Lenape members, who have tried to keep some traditions, but for the most part are adapted to present day customs. Much of the language has also been lost, and the few fluent speakers that remain are mostly in their 90s.
Lenape Lifeways, Inc. is a non-profit organization supported by agencies such as the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the NJ Historical Commission of the Department of State.
For more information about the Lenape people and the programs visit www.lenapelifeway.org, and until next time, Làpìch knewël (I will see you again, goodbye).