STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Three different tribes of the Lenape Nation have lived on Staten Island. They were some of the first people to inhabit North America, as far back as 10,000 B.C. They lived mostly on the West Shore of Staten Island and hunted mastodons, giant caribou, and other large animals for food and clothing. They were known to be tenacious warriors when they had to fight, however, favoring a path of peace with the other tribes and the Europeans. The name Lenape means “common” or “ordinary people,” according to statenislandhistorian.com.
The first colonist to meet the Lenape people was Giovanni da Verrazano in 1524. The Island continued to be populated mainly by the Lenape-Raritan and Unami Native Americans until about 1630.
Lenape people are detailed in the Borough Hall murals. On September 2, 1609, the Englishman Henry Hudson sails into the Harbor under the Dutch flag. A mate of Hudson’s writes about the land, “pleasant with grass and flowers and goodly trees.” Native Americans look on with conflicting emotions.(Staten Island Advance)
After complex wars prompted mainly by the Dutch, blood was spilled on both sides. When things settled down, in 1661 the Dutch established an enduring colony called Oude Dorp, or Old Town, near South Beach. The Lenapes began trading with the colonists, according to Staten Island Borough Hall.
Land sales between the Lenapes and the Dutch were misunderstood, and, as a result, Native Americans sold the same land many times, leading to disputes that lasted until the 1800s.
In 2008, an exhibit of the Woodland Period, in which the Lenapes lived, was on display at the Staten Island Museum. (Staten Island Advance)
Most Lenape…
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