The Munsee () are a subtribe and one of the three divisions of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

. Historically, they lived along the upper portion of the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

, the Minisink, and the adjacent country in New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. They were prominent in the early history of New York and New Jersey, being among the first Indigenous peoples of that region to encounter

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an colonizers.

Name

The name is also spelled Minsi, Muncee, or mə́n'si·w. ''Munsee'' derives from ''Minsi'', which in turn comes from '' Min-asin-ink'' (also Minisink), a placename that translates as "at the place where stones are gathered together."

Territory

The Munsee originally occupied the headwaters of the

in present-day New York,

, and

, extending south to the Lehigh River, and also held the west bank of the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

from the

Catskill Mountains The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province and subrange of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined a ...

nearly to the New Jersey line. They were bordered by the Mohican and Wappinger on the north and east, and fellow Lenape (Delaware) on the south and southeast. They were regarded as a buffer between the southern Lenape and the Iroquois Confederacy based in present-day New York south of the Great Lakes. Their council village was Minisink, probably in Sussex County, New Jersey. The bands along the Hudson were prominent in the early history of New York, but as European-American settlements increased, most of the Munsee moved south to join their relatives along the Delaware.''Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico,'' Vol.3, Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology, 1912

History

17th and 18th centuries

In 1669, the Munsee aided the Esopus people in attacking the Dutch colonists, and were defeated by Martin Cregier in the Esopus Wars. By a fraudulent treaty known as the Walking Purchase, the main body of the Munsee was forced to move from the Delaware River about the year 1740. They settled on the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

, on lands assigned them by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois, 'ökwé'ö:weh - "The only true men"). Soon afterward they moved west, joining the main Lenape settlements on the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. Most became incorporated with that group. In 1756, those remaining in New York were placed upon lands in Schoharie County and were incorporated with the Mohawk. A considerable body, the Christian Munsee, who were converted by the Moravian missionaries, drew off from the rest and formed a separate organization, most of them moving to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

19th century

Some Christian Munsee joined the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

and Stockbridge people in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. The majority joined the rest of the Lenape, with whom they participated in their subsequent wars and removals. In 1837, Christian Munsees, also called Delaware-Munsies, settled among fellow Lenape in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. In 1859, the Christian Munsees moved to

Franklin County, Kansas Franklin County is a county located in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Ottawa. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 25,996. The county was named for Benjamin Franklin, ...

, and joined a band of

people who had migrated south from Michigan. By 1891, the combined community numbered 85, and the US government formed an

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

for them. The reservation was broken into individual land allotments in 1900.

20th and 21st centuries

The Lenape who kept the name of Munsee were in three bands in the early 20th century in Canada and the United States. Two had consolidated with remnants of other nations so that no separate census is available. These nations were: * Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit, formerly the Delaware Nation at Moraviantown and Munsee of the Thames, a First Nation headquartered near

Thamesville, Ontario Thamesville is a community in Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada. It is located at the junction of former provincial Ontario Provincial Highway 2, Highways 2 and Ontario provincial highway 21, 21, between Chatham, Ontario, ...

* Chippewa and Munsee,

* Stockbridge-Munsee Community at Green Bay Agency, Wisconsin, now a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

Notes

References

* * * Penford, Saxby Voulaer., "Romantic Suffern - The History of Suffern, New York, from the Earliest Times to the Incorporation of the Village in 1896", Tallman, N.Y., 1955, (1st Edition)

External links

Eelūnaapèewii Lahkèewiit, Delaware Nation at Moraviantown

Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians
* {{authority control Algonquian ethnonyms First Nations in Ontario Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands Lenape Native American tribes in New Jersey Native American tribes in New York (state) Native American tribes in Pennsylvania Native American tribes in Wisconsin People from New Netherland