In Search of the Indiana Lenape
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IN SEARCH OF THE INDIANA LENAPE: A PREDICTIVE SUMMARY OF THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL IMPACT OF THE LENAPE LIVING ALONG THE WHITE RIVER IN INDIANA FROM 1790 - 1821 A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS BY JESSICA L. YANN DR. RONALD HICKS, CHAIR BALL STATE UNIVERSITY MUNCIE, INDIANA DECEMBER 2009 Table of Contents Figures and Tables ........................................................................................................................ iii Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Research Goals ............................................................................................................................ 1 Background .................................................................................................................................. 2 Chapter 2: Theory and Methods ................................................................................................. 6 Explaining Contact and Its Material Remains ............................................................................. 6 Predicting the Intensity of Change and its Effects on Identity................................................... 14 Change and the Lenape .............................................................................................................. 16 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 3: The Lenape History of Contact .............................................................................. 20 From Lenapehoking to the Indiana Territory ............................................................................. 20 The Lenape in the Indiana Territory .......................................................................................... 44 Chapter 4: Lenape Archaeology ................................................................................................ 52 A Note on the Material Record .................................................................................................. 52 Archaeological Sites .................................................................................................................. 53 New York ................................................................................................................................ 53 New Jersey ............................................................................................................................. 55 Pennsylvania .......................................................................................................................... 59 Ontario ................................................................................................................................... 63 Ohio ....................................................................................................................................... 65 Indiana ................................................................................................................................... 67 White River Villages .............................................................................................................. 67 Chapter 5: Settlement Patterns and Material Life ................................................................... 76 Regional Patterns ....................................................................................................................... 77 Lenape Villages in Indiana ........................................................................................................ 79 The Architecture of Lenape Households ................................................................................... 83 Ethnohistoric Evidence of Daily Life ........................................................................................ 86 Foodways ............................................................................................................................... 86 Hunting Methods .................................................................................................................... 90 Fishing Methods..................................................................................................................... 92 Clothing and Adornments ...................................................................................................... 93 Health ..................................................................................................................................... 95 Alcohol Trade and Use .......................................................................................................... 96 Chapter 6: The Lenape in Indiana, Synthesizing the Data ................................................... 100 The Lenape of Indiana, 1790 to 1820: Who Were They? ........................................................ 100 How would a Lenape village be represented in the archaeological record? ............................ 104 Identifying Native American and Lenape Archaeological Sites .......................................... 105 Trade Goods......................................................................................................................... 108 Function of Trade Goods ..................................................................................................... 111 Identifying a Lenape Site in Indiana .................................................................................... 113 Cross-cultural Comparisons ................................................................................................ 115 Chapter 7: Historic Lenape ....................................................................................................... 120 Who were the Lenape historically? .......................................................................................... 120 Who were the Lenape archaeologically? ................................................................................. 121 References Cited......................................................................................................................... 123 ii Figures and Tables Figures Figure 1: Lenapehoking .................................................................................................... 21 Figure 2: Forts built by St. Clair and Wayne .................................................................... 38 Figure 3: Greenville Treaty Line ..................................................................................... 42 Figure 4: Postholes at Harry’s Field Site ......................................................................... 57 Figure 5: Lenape Villages along the White River, Indiana ............................................. 68 Tables Table 1: Pennsylvania Lenape Villages (Kent et al. 1981) ........................................... 60 Charts Chart 1: Annuity Goods (Data from Baerreis 1961) ....................................................... 118 iii Chapter 1: Introduction Research Goals Who were the Lenape that lived in Indiana from 1790 to 1820? How would they be represented in the archaeological record? Using archaeological and ethnohistoric data these specific questions will be addressed. A summary of the major events in Lenape history will provide the historic context for interpreting the archaeological record and the ethnohistoric data. A summary of archaeological work on Lenape sites will provide comparative data for determining how the Indiana Lenape may be represented in the archaeological record, as well as how historic events may have influenced their material culture. Ethnohistoric information focusing on the day-to-day life of the Lenape will complement the archaeology and provide information concerning their lifeways during their time in Indiana. The Lenape identity and culture during the time they were settled within Indiana reflected a tumultuous period of time, shaped by many factors which should be reflected in their material record. However, no Lenape sites in Indiana have been confirmed possibly due to the inability to decisively provide cultural affinity for previously located sites. This study will show not only that the Lenape were a complex people, persistent and adaptive, but also what could be expected in the archaeological record from a Lenape site in Indiana. Background The indigenous people of the Great Lakes Region greatly influenced the early history of the United States. Prior to contact with Europeans, they created, shaped and transformed social, economic, cultural, and political landscapes through encounters with other indigenous peoples (Nassaney and Johnson 2000:6). The strategies that allowed them to accomplish this enabled many Natives to also successfully navigate the differences that arose between themselves and Europeans, pursuing their own agendas despite European coercion and force. These strategies allowed Algonquin-speaking people and their neighbors to be the primary force in shaping the history of the Great Lakes region not only prior to contact, but also throughout the contact period to the 1830s (Edmunds 2008:8-9). The indigenous people living in this region were adaptive and persistent, characteristics observable in any of the unique groups, though it is the Delaware who will be more thoroughly examined here. While many refer to the Lenape today as the Delaware Indians, this term