American Indian Resources

From Amazon:

Here is a story of the Lenape Indians who lived in what is now New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. It describes their culture, crafts, and language as no other book has done. Hunters, fishers, artisans of flint and skins and basketry, tellers of traditional tales, dwellers in a region of hills and barrens, of rivers and forests, they had developed a way of life adjusted to the world around them.

In presenting the lore and heritage of the Lenapes, Dr. M.R. Harrington does so through the eyes of a shipwrecked English boy who became a captive of the Indians, and was eventually adopted into the tribe. The narrative is lively reading, and the facts on which it is based are accurate. With the accompanying Clarence Ellsworth line drawings, the reader can understand and even reproduce many of the objects the author describes: the Lenape bows and arrows, moccasins and mats, baskets and bowls.

From Amazon:

Thousands of schoolchildren have read the adventures of Dickon, the English boy who was rescued from a shipwreck by the Lenape Indians, told in The Indians of New Jersey by M. R. Harrington. Now they and others can follow Dickon's further adventures in The Iroquois Trail.

As Dickon and his companions travel the Iroquois Trail in search of his Lenape brother, Little-Bear, they learn the ways of the Onondagas, Senecas, Mohawks, Oneidas, and Cayugas. Dickon tells his own story, describing the day-to-day activities in the villages along the trail—their ways of making clothing, weapons, household articles, and ornaments, and how they hunt, cook, travel, and worship. He meets Hiawatha, Deganawide, Jigonsasay, and other Indian leaders. His tale is accompanied by line drawings that vividly portray the art of making baskets, moccasins, bows and arrows, clothing, and other everday articles. These illustrations are done by Don Perceval, a renowned artist and specialist on Indians

John Butler was taken captive by the Lenni-Lenape Indians at age 4 and was assimilated and accepted as a full-blooded Lenape by that community. At the age of fifteen, the Lenape are forced to give up their captives. John Butler is forced to go back to his white family, but he wants to remain with his Lenape family. This is a historical fiction work.

When we think about the crow, we think of an ugly black bird with a harsh cry. I am a member of the Delaware Indian Nation, which is also known as Lenni-Lenape. Our legend tells the story of a time when snow covered the earth. There were no people back then only animals. The animals are excited to see snow for the first time, but as soon as they get buried and cold they are scared. Some one has to go visit the sky spirit, but no one is brave enough except rainbow crow, a beautiful singing bird. Can rainbow crow make the long journey to the sky spirit and save his friends?

This is such a beautiful book. The illustrations are in color. I love reading this story a-loud because it flows so smoothly and it has repetitive chants that make it fun for the students to cheer rainbow crow on. It is also a beautiful legend that explains how the crow sacrificed his beautiful feathers and voice to save his friends.

My tribe is originally from the Eastern Woodlands and this book has beautiful illustrations to show how beautiful and peaceful our land was before the two-legged came. My tribe is not that well known outside of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. I love to read this story during American Indian Heritage month.

This book also makes me think of finding beauty in negative spaces. I have lost a love one to suicide, so the crow mirrors me that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The crow lost many things but he still has the gift of freedom to do what he wants. Many of us are materialistic but we can also live simply like our ancestors. The legend is simple enough for a child to understand and complex enough for an adult to appreciate.

Sad Note: I never heard of the crow mentioned in my tribe not had I ever heard of Chief Bill "Whippoorwill" Thompson. The Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania is not recognized as a legitimate

From Amazon.com:

A young Lenape Indian girl observes and reflects on the small, important ways her family today, and her ancestors generations before, celebrate the cycle of seasons.

Today when a Lenape Indian girl ventures to the stream to fish for shad, she knows that another girl did the same generations before her. Through the cycle of the seasons, what is important has remained: being with family, knowing when berries are ripe for picking, listening to stories in a warm home. Told by Traditional Sister and Contemporary Sister, each from her own time, this is a book about tradition and about change. Then and now are not so very different when the shadbush blooms.

Carla Messinger founded the Lenni Lenape Historical Museum in Allentown, PA.