Lenape
18th century
### 18th century

[thumb\|Lenape chief [Lappawinsoe](/wiki/Lappawinsoe "Lappawinsoe") depicted in a 1735 portrait by [Gustavus Hesselius](/wiki/Gustavus_Hesselius "Gustavus Hesselius")](/wiki/File:Gustavus_Hesselius-Lapowinsa_%28larger%29.jpg "Gustavus Hesselius-Lapowinsa (larger).jpg")
[William Penn](/wiki/William_Penn "William Penn") died in 1718\. His heirs, John and Thomas Penn, and their agents were ruling the colony, and had abandoned many of [William Penn](/wiki/William_Penn "William Penn")'s practices. In an attempt to raise money, they contemplated ways to sell Lenape land to colonial settlers, which culminated in the [Walking Purchase](/wiki/Walking_Purchase "Walking Purchase"). In the mid\-1730s, colonial administrators produced a draft of a land deed dating to the 1680s. William Penn had approached several leaders of Lenape polities in the lower Delaware to discuss land sales further north. Since the land in question did not belong to their polities, the talks did not lead to an agreement. But colonial administrators prepared the draft that resurfaced in the 1730s. The Penns and their supporters presented this draft as a legitimate deed, but Lenape leaders in the lower Delaware refused to accept it.

According to historian [Steven C. Harper](/wiki/Steven_C._Harper "Steven C. Harper"), what followed was a "convoluted sequence of deception, fraud, and extortion orchestrated by the Pennsylvania government that is commonly known as the Walking Purchase". In the end, all Lenape who still lived on the Delaware were driven off the remnants of their homeland under threats of violence. Some Lenape polities eventually retaliated by attacking [Pennsylvania](/wiki/Pennsylvania "Pennsylvania") settlements. When they resisted European colonial expansion at the height of the [French and Indian War](/wiki/French_and_Indian_War "French and Indian War"), British colonial authorities investigated the causes of Lenape resentment. The British asked [Sir William Johnson](/wiki/Sir_William_Johnson%2C_1st_Baronet "Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet"), Superintendent of Indian Affairs, to lead the investigation. Johnson had become wealthy as a trader and acquired thousands of acres of land in the [Mohawk River](/wiki/Mohawk_River "Mohawk River") region from the Iroquois Mohawk of New York.

In 1757, an organization known as the New Jersey Association for Helping the Indians wrote a constitution to [expel](/wiki/Forced_displacement "Forced displacement") native Munsee Lenape from their settlements in the area of present\-day [Washington Valley](/wiki/Washington_Valley_Historic_District "Washington Valley Historic District") in [Morris County, New Jersey](/wiki/Morris_County%2C_New_Jersey "Morris County, New Jersey"). Led by Reverend John Brainerd, colonists [forcefully relocated](/wiki/Forced_displacement "Forced displacement") 200 people to Indian Mills, then known as [Brotherton](/wiki/Indian_Mills%2C_New_Jersey "Indian Mills, New Jersey"), an industrial town with gristills and sawmills, that was the first Native American reservation in [New Jersey](/wiki/New_Jersey "New Jersey"). Reverend John Brainerd abandoned the reservation in 1777\.

In 1758, the [Treaty of Easton](/wiki/Treaty_of_Easton "Treaty of Easton") was signed between the Lenape and European colonists. In it, the Lenape were required to move westward out of present\-day [New York](/wiki/New_York_%28state%29 "New York (state)") and New Jersey, progressing into Pennsylvania and then to present\-day [Ohio](/wiki/Ohio "Ohio") and beyond.Keenan, *Encyclopedia of American Indian Wars, 1492–1890,* 1999, p. 234; Moore, *The Northwest Under Three Flags, 1635–1796,* 1900, p. 151\. Through the 18th century, many Lenape moved west into the relatively depopulated upper [Ohio River](/wiki/Ohio_River "Ohio River") basin, but they also sporadically launched violent raids on settlers far outside the area. 

Beginning in the 18th century, the [Moravian Church](/wiki/Moravian_Church "Moravian Church") established missions in Lenape settlements.Gray, Elma. *Wilderness Christians: Moravian Missions to the Delaware Indians*. Ithaca. 1956  The Moravians required the Christian [converts](/wiki/Converts "Converts") to share Moravian [pacifism](/wiki/Pacifism "Pacifism") and live in a structured and European\-style mission village.Olmstead, Earl P. *Blackcoats among the Delaware: David Zeisberger on the Ohio frontier*. Kent, Ohio. 1991  Moravian pacifism and unwillingness to take loyalty oaths caused conflicts with British colonial authorities, who were seeking aid against the French and their Native American allies in the [French and Indian War](/wiki/French_and_Indian_War "French and Indian War"). The Moravians' insistence on Christian Lenape's abandoning traditional warfare practices alienated mission populations from other Lenape and Native American groups, who revered warriors.

The Lenape initially sided with [France](/wiki/Kingdom_of_France "Kingdom of France"), since they hoped to prevent further European colonial encroachment in their settlements. Their chiefs [Teedyuscung](/wiki/Teedyuscung "Teedyuscung") in the east and [Tamaqua](/wiki/Tamaqua_%28Lenape_chief%29 "Tamaqua (Lenape chief)") near present\-day [Pittsburgh](/wiki/Pittsburgh "Pittsburgh") shifted to building alliances with [British](/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain "Kingdom of Great Britain") colonial authorities. Lenape leader [Killbuck](/wiki/Bemino "Bemino") (*also* Bemino) assisted the British against the French and their Indian allies. In 1761, Killbuck led a British supply train from [Fort Pitt](/wiki/Fort_Pitt_%28Pennsylvania%29 "Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)") to [Fort Sandusky](/wiki/Fort_Sandusky "Fort Sandusky"). In 1763, Bill Hickman, a Lenape, warned English colonists in the [Juniata River](/wiki/Juniata_River "Juniata River") region of present\-day Pennsylvania of an impending attack.
After the end of the French and Indian War, European settlers continued to attack the Lenape, often to such an extent that, as historian Amy Schutt writes, the dead since the wars outnumbered those killed during the war.Schutt, (2007\), p.118 In April 1763, Teedyuscung was killed during the burning of his home. His son Captain Bull responded by attacking settlers, sponsored by the Susquehanna Company, in the present\-day [Wyoming Valley](/wiki/Wyoming_Valley "Wyoming Valley") region of Pennsylvania..Schutt, (2007\), p. 119 Many Lenape joined in [Pontiac's War](/wiki/Pontiac%27s_War "Pontiac's War") and were among the Native Americans who besieged present\-day Pittsburgh.

#### American Revolutionary War

During the early 1770s, missionaries, including [David Zeisberger](/wiki/David_Zeisberger "David Zeisberger") and [John Heckewelder](/wiki/John_Heckewelder "John Heckewelder"), arrived in the Ohio Country near the Lenape villages. The [Moravian Church](/wiki/Moravian_Church "Moravian Church") sent these men to convert the [Indigenous peoples](/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States "Native Americans in the United States") to Christianity. The missionaries established several missions, including *Gnadenhutten*, *Lichtenau*, and *Schoenbrunn*. The missionaries pressured Indigenous people to [abandon their traditional customs](/wiki/Civilizing_mission "Civilizing mission"), beliefs, and ways of life, and to replace them with European and Christian ways. Many Lenape did adopt Christianity, but others refused to do so. The Lenape became a divided people during the 1770s, including in [Killbuck's](/wiki/Bemino "Bemino") family. Killbuck resented his grandfather for allowing the Moravians to remain in the Ohio country. The Moravians believed in pacifism, and Killbuck believed that every convert to the Moravians deprived the Lenape of a warrior to stop further white settlement of their land.

In the beginning of the [American Revolutionary War](/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War "American Revolutionary War"), Killbuck and many Lenape claimed to be neutral. Other neighboring Indian communities, particularly the [Wyandot](/wiki/Wyandotte_people "Wyandotte people"), the [Mingo](/wiki/Mingo "Mingo"), the [Shawnee](/wiki/Shawnee "Shawnee"), and the [Wolf Clan of the Lenape](/wiki/Munsee "Munsee"), favored the British. They believed that by the [Royal Proclamation of 1763](/wiki/Royal_Proclamation_of_1763 "Royal Proclamation of 1763"), restricting Anglo\-American settlement to east of the Appalachian Mountains, the British would help them preserve a [Native American territory](/wiki/Indian_barrier_state "Indian barrier state").

As the Revolutionary War intensified, the Lenape in present\-day [Ohio](/wiki/Ohio "Ohio") were deeply divided over which side, if any, to take in the war. When the war began, Killbuck found the Lenape caught between the British and their Indian allies in the West and the Americans in the East. The Lenape were living in numerous villages around their main village of *[Coshocton](/wiki/Coshocton%2C_Ohio "Coshocton, Ohio")*,, accessed 19 Mar 2010 between the western frontier strongholds of the British and the Patriots. The Americans had [Fort Pitt](/wiki/Fort_Pitt_%28Pennsylvania%29 "Fort Pitt (Pennsylvania)") (present\-day Pittsburgh) and the British, along with Indian allies, controlled the area of [Fort Detroit](/wiki/Fort_Detroit "Fort Detroit") across the river in present\-day [Michigan](/wiki/Michigan "Michigan").

Some Lenape decided to take up arms against the American settlers and moved to the west, closer to Detroit, where they settled on the [Scioto](/wiki/Scioto_River "Scioto River") and [Sandusky](/wiki/Sandusky_River "Sandusky River") rivers. In 1778, Killbuck permitted American soldiers to traverse Lenape territory so that the soldiers could attack British\-held Fort Detroit. In return, Killbuck requested that the Americans build a fort near the major Lenape village of Coshocton, to provide them with protection from potential attacks by British\-allied Indians and [Loyalists](/wiki/Loyalist_%28American_Revolution%29 "Loyalist (American Revolution)"). The Americans agreed and built [Fort Laurens](/wiki/Fort_Laurens "Fort Laurens"), which they garrisoned. Lenape sympathetic to the United States remained at Coshocton, and Lenape leaders signed the [Treaty of Fort Pitt (1778\)](/wiki/Treaty_of_Fort_Pitt_%281778%29 "Treaty of Fort Pitt (1778)") with the Americans. Through this treaty, the Lenape hoped to establish the Ohio country as a state inhabited exclusively by Native Americans, as a subset of the new United States. A third group of Lenape, many of them converted [Christian Munsees](/wiki/Christian_Munsee "Christian Munsee"), lived in several mission villages run by [Moravians](/wiki/Moravian_Church "Moravian Church"). Like the other bands, they also spoke the [Munsee](/wiki/Munsee "Munsee") branch of Lenape, an [Algonquian](/wiki/Algonquian_languages "Algonquian languages") language.

The British made plans to attack [Fort Laurens](/wiki/Fort_Laurens "Fort Laurens") in early 1779 and demanded that the neutral Lenape formally side with the British. Killbuck warned the Americans of the planned attack. His actions helped save the fort, but the Americans abandoned it in August 1779\. The Lenape had lost their protectors and found themselves without solid allies in the conflict, which compounded their dispossession at the hand of encroaching [American pioneers](/wiki/American_pioneers "American pioneers") during and after the war.

[White Eyes](/wiki/White_Eyes "White Eyes"), the Lenape [chief](/wiki/Tribal_chief "Tribal chief") who had negotiated the Fort Pitt treaty, died in 1778\. Subsequently many Lenape at Coshocton eventually joined the war against the Americans. In response, American military officer [Daniel Brodhead](/wiki/Daniel_Brodhead "Daniel Brodhead") led an expedition out of Fort Pitt and on April 20, Brodhead and his men, including some U.S.\-aligned Lenape, raided and destroyed the pacifist [Moravian Christian Lenape](/wiki/Christian_Munsee "Christian Munsee") settlement of *Indaochaic* also known as [Lichtenau](/wiki/Lichtenau%2C_Ohio "Lichtenau, Ohio"). Then the troop, aided by Lenape chief [Gelelemend](/wiki/Gelelemend "Gelelemend"), traveled to the nearby village of *Goschachgunk,* now known as [Coshocton, Ohio](/wiki/Coshocton%2C_Ohio "Coshocton, Ohio"). He divided his men into three regiments and laid their village to waste. On the first night, 16 warriors were captured, taken south of the village, and slaughtered; another 20 were killed in battle, and 20 civilians were taken prisoner. Surviving residents fled to the north. Colonel Brodhead convinced the militia to leave the Lenape at the remaining Moravian mission villages unmolested, since they were unarmed non\-combatants.

#### Late 18th century treaties

In 1780, [Munsee\-speaking](/wiki/Munsee_language "Munsee language") Lenape [community leaders](/wiki/Community_leader "Community leader") native to the [Washington Valley](/wiki/Washington_Valley_Historic_District "Washington Valley Historic District") that had been [forcibly displaced](/wiki/Forced_displacement "Forced displacement") to [Brotherton](/wiki/Indian_Mills%2C_New_Jersey "Indian Mills, New Jersey"), wrote a [community](/wiki/Indian_country "Indian country") [treaty](/wiki/Treaty "Treaty")The Brotherton Indians' agreement to oppose white settlement, January 6, 1780\. (Gilder Lehrman Collection)[https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/content\-images/00540\.01p1\.web\_.jpg](https://www.gilderlehrman.org/sites/default/files/content-images/00540.01p1.web_.jpg) to oppose selling any more land to white settlers: 

Over a period of 176 years, European settlers pushed the Lenape out of the East Coast, through to Ohio and eventually further west. Most members of the Munsee\-language branch of the Lenape left the United States after the British were defeated in the American Revolutionary War. Their descendants live on three [Indian reserves](/wiki/Indian_reserve "Indian reserve") in [Western Ontario](/wiki/Western_Ontario "Western Ontario"), Canada. They are descendants of those Lenape of Ohio Country who sided with the British during the Revolutionary War. The largest reserve is at [Moraviantown, Ontario](/wiki/Moravian_47%2C_Ontario "Moravian 47, Ontario"), where the Turtle [Phratry](/wiki/Phratry "Phratry") settled in 1792 following the war.

The 1795 [Treaty of Greenville](/wiki/Treaty_of_Greenville "Treaty of Greenville") saw the cession of more Indigenous lands to the United States government. In return, the U.S. relinquished its claims to "all other Indian lands northward of the [river Ohio](/wiki/Ohio_River "Ohio River"), eastward of the [Mississippi](/wiki/Mississippi_River "Mississippi River"), and westward and southward of the [Great Lakes](/wiki/Great_Lakes "Great Lakes") and the waters uniting them". The U.S. also agreed to provide an annual allowance to various Indigenous groups including the Lenape.

In 1796, the [Oneidas](/wiki/Oneida_people "Oneida people") of [New Stockbridge](/wiki/Stockbridge%2C_New_York "Stockbridge, New York") invited the Munsee Lenape to their [reservation](/wiki/Indian_reservation "Indian reservation"). The initial Lenape response was negative; in 1798, Lenape community leaders Bartholomew Calvin, Jason Skekit, and 18 others signed a public statement of refusal to leave "our fine place in [Jersey](/wiki/New_Jersey "New Jersey")". The Munsee later agreed to relocate to New Stockbridge to join the Oneidas. A few households stayed behind to assimilate into New Jersey.


How does the Treaty of Greenville relate to the broader history of Indigenous-settler relations in North America?