Indigenous Peoples

Who were West Windsor's first settlers? Long before any Europeans set foot in North America, our area was inhabited by an indigenous society: the Leni Lenape. The text below is an excerpt from our 170-page West Windsor History Book, which you can buy to explore local history from the Ice Age to the present day.

In early 2022, we invited Reverend John Norwood of the Nanticoke Leni-Lenape Tribal Nation to speak about Lenape history and culture. CLICK HERE to watch his lecture, "We Are Still Here."

A Trip Upstream​

​On July 20, 1634, an English captain named Thomas Yong set sail from the colony of Jamestown, Virginia. He hoped to reach the legendary “Northwest Passage,” a waterway believed to connect the eastern and western coasts of North America. In four days, his crew reached Delaware Bay, where, over the course of several weeks, he met Dutch traders and members of several indigenous tribes, from whom he learned about Dutch claim of the general area (which he refuted) and inter-tribal conflict.[1]

Believing he might reach the Pacific Ocean by way of the St. Lawrence River, Yong eventually sailed as far as Quebec but was taken captive by the French and never heard from again. His voyage up the Delaware River had taken him as far as the “Rockes” - what we now know as the “Falls of Delaware” at Trenton. Also in Trenton, a stream called the “Assunpink Creek” flowed into the Delaware. Had the expedition followed it northeast via a comparatively short overland trek, it would have reached the region which we now call West Windsor and its members would have possibly encountered the area’s original indigenous inhabitants.[2]

The Assunpink Creek in West Windsor.

Leni Lenape

The fog of time obscures the precise origin of West Windsor’s first occupants – the descendants of Paleolithic settlers who likely immigrated to the East Coast some time after the end of the last Ice Age many thousands of years ago.[3] As they practiced oral history instead of keeping written records, much of our knowledge about them comes from European observation, such as that of Thomas Yong. What explorers discovered was a loose band of tribes connected by geographical proximity, speaking dialects of a common “Algonquin” language. They presided over a land that stretched from around the Connecticut-New York border through Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley of New York, and encompassed all of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, the northeast tip of Maryland, and much of Delaware. To Europeans, the tribes - and the river around which many of them lived - were the “Delaware.” This name paid homage to the English aristocrat and governor of Virginia, Sir Thomas West, Lord De La Warr. However, to the indigenous residents, their territory was the “Lënapehòking” and they called themselves the “Lëni Lënape” – loosely translated to “original/real/common person.”[4]

Traditionally, two or three main dialect groups existed throughout the Lënapehòking: The Munsee in the north, the Unami in the center, and the Unalachtigo (often argued to be a subset of the Unami) in the south. They were each composed of numerous tribes that operated largely autonomously of one another, and featuring distinct and vibrant histories, customs, and cultures. While tribes often interacted, what prevailed was a decentralized organization of affiliated communities.[5]

There were some common cultural ties, however. The Lënape traditionally lived in dispersed, non-palisaded villages, reflecting predominately peaceful inter-tribal relations. They sheltered in “wigwams” and “longhouses” - structures often shared by several families. They maintained tribal territory cooperatively and did not traditionally recognize individual land ownership. Sociopolitical structure was egalitarian and democratic: chiefs - guided by a council of elders and other leaders - held substantial authority provided they followed their tribe’s collective will. Men were traditionally responsible for hunting, fishing, clearing land, and fighting, while women tended to the farms, gathered fruit and nuts, constructed houses, reared children, crafted clothing and furniture, and cooked meals. Kinship was matrilineal, so children belonged to their mother’s clan and leadership passed through the maternal line.[6]

Crude map of the "Lenapehoking" (Lenape territory).

The Lënape grew maize (corn), fished in creeks and rivers, and harvested shellfish at the shore. They produced pottery, clothing, stone tools, and practiced basket-making and other crafts.[7] They used waterways for transportation and established a network of footpaths across the Lënapehòking, some of which European settlers converted into early roads.[8] Perhaps most distinctively, the Lënape were known as peacekeepers, frequently opting to avoid war and instead negotiate settlements among themselves and with their more aggressive neighbors such as the Iroquois and the Susquehannock. However, they defended themselves if need be.[9]

The Lënape saw the earth and the sky as part of a spiritual realm in which they lived. Spirits (“manëtu”) inhabited the natural world and could be found in animals, rocks, plants, or clouds, and provided guidance and counsel. They also believed in a master manëtu - ever-present and all-powerful. Religious leaders performed rituals to influence weather, cure ailments, and prevent danger. Following European contact, many Lënape resisted religious conversion and maintained these customs for centuries.[10]

New Jersey place names keep some Lënape legacy alive. The Raritan tribe, for example, resided around the river valley of that name.[11] One group is of particular importance to us – the Sanhikans (or Assanpinks, sometimes historically called the “Sanpinks”). They resided in the greater Trenton area, including present-day West Windsor.[12] You may recognize their most obvious legacy here: the Assunpink Creek – derived from the Lënape word “Ahsën’pink,” meaning a “rocky, watery place.”[13]

A typical Lenape "longhouse."

European Contact

In 1524, Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano and his men briefly met the Lënape around New York Bay.[14] The exact number of Lënape at the time is unknown – estimates vary wildly, often between 8,000 and 20,000.[15] In 1609, Henry Hudson’s ship, the Half Moon, rounded the tip of Sandy Hook, meeting curious Navesink Lënape. In 1624, the Dutch founded “New Netherland” with its capital, “New Amsterdam” - the southern tip of present-day Manhattan. This was followed by Swedish and Finnish settlement of the “New Sweden” colony in 1638, straddling both sides of the lower Delaware River. With these two rival European settlements looking to trade with the Lënape, permanent relationships between the natives and settlers were established.[16]

The Lënape were significantly more powerful than their European counterparts for decades following first contact. Not only did they far outnumber the colonists for the majority of the 1600s; they were also more familiar with the territory and often effectively navigated competition between European powers. In the early years, the Lënape frequently dictated who settled where, largely aiming to constrain Europeans to managing trading outposts rather than founding agricultural settlements. Europeans, eager to establish economic connections with the natives, soon found themselves in regular contact with their indigenous counterparts. The Lënape were eager to incorporate European technology and artifacts into their lifestyles and Europeans saw opportunity for economic and political prosperity in turn. For decades, predominately nonviolent indigenous-European relations prevailed, especially in southern Lënapehòking.[17]

Map of "Nova Belgica" (New Netherland).

However, peace was not a constant. From about 1626-1636, the Lënape struggled with the indigenous Susquehannocks to the west over access to European trade. The c. 1631 massacre of the Dutch Swaanendael settlement in southeastern Delaware by the Lënape likely arose from several intersecting issues, including a misunderstanding over property that left a chief dead by the hands of his own tribespeople. The Lënape generally preferred Swedish settlers to the Dutch, partly because the Dutch were more aggressive in their actions - including attempts to solicit tribute payments from the Lënape, disagreements over land rights, and a takeover of New Sweden in 1655. In 1643, William Kieft, Director-General of New Netherland, ordered an attack on Lënape fleeing from the Iroquois and sheltering in Pavonia (around present-day Jersey City and Hoboken), instigating the “Pavonia Massacre” that left dozens of Lënape men, women, and children dead. This sparked “Kieft’s War,” which killed many Dutch and even more Lënape over the course of two years and further eroded intercultural trust. This was followed by the Peach Tree War of 1655, a large-scale attack by the Munsee and Susquehannock on several New Netherland settlements along the Hudson River. The Esopus Wars of the 1650s/60s further demonstrated Lënape-Dutch conflict in Munsee territory.[18]

The 1643 Pavonia Massacre was a low point in Lenape-Dutch relations.

British Arrival

​In 1664, England annexed New Netherland, taking control of much of present-day New Jersey.[19] This helped set the stage for the 1682 arrival of William Penn - famed Quaker founder of Pennsylvania, one of New Jersey’s original “Proprietors” (a group of governing colonial overseers) and one of present-day West Windsor’s first European landowners. Penn was also famed for promoting friendly relations with the Lënape. He had come here partially to escape Quaker persecution in England.[20] In 1682/3, Penn reputedly entered into a treaty with the legendary Chief Tamanend (AKA “Tammany,” after whom one of New Jersey’s high points and a Manhattan landmark is named), vowing that the indigenous residents and European newcomers would live in indefinite peace.[21] However, within a few short years, thousands of more European settlers arrived, acquiring rights to hundreds of thousands of acres of land. The Lënape were soon outnumbered. So, too, were the Dutch, Finns, and Swedes – who, alongside their indigenous counterparts, found themselves in frequent territorial disputes. The concept of individual European land ownership was still strange to many Lënape, who, within living memory, had been the area’s sole inhabitants.[22]​ Arguably most devastating, beyond all else, were the diseases brought by the colonists. From first contact onward, epidemics of smallpox, influenza, measles, and more killed innumerable Lënape – a situation that only worsened with the late-1600s colonial influx.​

William Penn.

Additionally, while William Penn himself maintained good relations with his indigenous counterparts, many others did not.[23] In 1737, the same year they sold a tract of land called “Penns Neck” in West Windsor to Garret Schenck and John Kouwenhoven, two of William’s sons - John Penn and Thomas Penn - helped devise the infamous “Walking Purchase” that defrauded the Lënape of over one million acres of land in eastern Pennsylvania. That year, colonial authorities claimed to have found a lost treaty from 1686 giving them as much land between the split of the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers as could be walked in a day. Thomas Penn hired three men to walk as fast as they could on a pre-cleared path and secured an enormous swath of Eastern Pennsylvania for the colonists.[24]

By the 1700s, although the Lënape were still politically sovereign, their status in their homeland was tenuous. Many youths wanted to launch “mourning wars” and felt they were being punished by the spirits for maintaining contact with Europeans. They were often resisted by their elders, who recognized their delicate situation. Many Lënape joined French forces during the French and Indian War, while others remained neutral or even fought for the (victorious) British.[25] The American Revolution similarly split Lënape allegiance, but also yielded the 1778 “Treaty with the Delawares” - the first formal pact between the infant United States and an indigenous nation.[26]

A series of images depicting the effect of smallpox on a Mesoamerican (not a Lenape)

Lenape Departure

It should come as no surprise that many Lënape decided to leave their ancestral lands. From the 1720s to the early 1800s, countless tribes sold their land to the colonists and moved westward, largely to Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Canada. From there, many were further forced onto reservations. The United States’ first indigenous reservation (1758) near Indian Mills, Burlington County, NJ, ultimately proved unsuccessful, and most of its residents left in 1802 for New York (and later Wisconsin). By the early 1800s, many of the Lënape were long gone from their homeland.[27]

Those that stayed retained some political autonomy and attempted to practice traditional ways of life, although others converted to Christianity, further splitting the Lënape. They still maintained predominately nonviolent relationships with the colonists, and even intermarriage between the two societies was not unheard of. Despite their proximity, the indigenous and colonial populations largely considered themselves politically and legally distinct.[28] Still, distrust persisted, exacerbated by the 1758 Treaty of Easton, which required proof of land ownership from the Lënape for them to retain their land.[29] This difficult ask forced many more to move west out of their homeland.[30]

It was not until 1879 that a U.S. Federal Court recognized Native Americans as people protected by federal law (Standing Bear v. Crook).[31] In 1924, with the passage of the Snyder Act, many were finally declared citizens of the United States.[32] And it took until 1978, with the enactment of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, for many traditional religious ceremonies and beliefs to be protected by federal law.[33]

Lenape Migration, 1700s-1800s.

The Lenape Today

Yet, the Lënape are not entirely gone. Three federally recognized tribes exist in the United States: two in Oklahoma and one in Wisconsin. Three others are recognized at the state level: the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware, and the Nanticoke-Lenni Lenape Tribal Nation and the Ramapough Lenape Nation, both of New Jersey.[34] Furthermore, Canada recognizes three tribes in Ontario.[35] Other communities have petitioned for legal recognition.

Ancient tradition is fervently kept alive. Annual pow wows - food, dance, music, and craft festivals - celebrate a continuity of ancient customs and beliefs. Community charities provide social welfare for their members. There are also efforts to revitalize the old dialects. And many descendants continue to fight for indigenous rights and recognition to this day. Vestiges of the Lënape remain in West Windsor. Artifacts such as arrowheads are found along waterways and among farmland. Additionally, a 1703 deed shows two Lënape individuals – Hapohucquona and Tolomhon – selling hundreds of acres of West Windsor land south of the Assunpink Creek for “five match coats, two hoes, two hatchets, four knives and one gallon of rum.” The buyer was David Lyell, an English goldsmith.[36] This buttresses longtime tradition that the community of Edinburg - at the intersection of Old Trenton and Edinburg Roads - was established near or at the site of a Lënape settlement.[37]

Tree in Tatamy's Swamp.

West Windsor's Lenape Legacy

West Windsor is also home to “Tatamy’s Swamp” – wetlands largely between Clarksville and North Post Roads that were likely once owned by - and possibly the home of - a seminal Lënape figure named Moses Tunda Tatamy (c. 1690s-1760/1). After witnessing the extrajudicial execution of his chief, Weequehela, in 1727, Tatamy vowed to protect his people. He became a prominent peacekeeper in the Lenapehoking, settling numerous intercultural disputes for decades and participating in summits such as the Treaty of Easton.[38]

​Following Lënape departure, the land was open to inhabitation by West Windsor’s first colonial settlers

Tatamy's Swamp

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Bibliography:

1. Myers, Albert Cook. “Relation of Captain Thomas Yong, 1634.” Essay. In Narratives of Early Pennsylvania, West New Jersey and Delaware, 1630-1707, 37–49. Lexington, KY: Forgotten Books, 2011.
2. Ibid.
3.  Kraft, Herbert C. The Lenape-Delaware Indian Heritage: 10,000 B.C.- A.D. 2000. Stanhope, N.J.?: Lenape Books, 2001.
4.  Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Snyder, John Parr. The Story of New Jersey’s Civil Boundaries, 1606-1968. Trenton: New Jersey Dept. of Environmental Protection, Division of Water Resources, Geological Survey, 1969.
9. Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
10. Ibid.
11. Ibid.
12. Clayton, W. Woodford. Essay. In History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men. Edited by W.W. Clayton. Illustrated, 41. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1882.
13. "Welcome to the Lenape Talking Dictionary.” The Lenape Talking Dictionary | Home. Lenape Language Preservation Project. Accessed February 27, 2022. https://www. talk-lenape.org/.
14. Sound, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
15. Csebestyen. “A Short History of New Jersey.” The Official Web Site for The State of New Jersey | A Short History of New Jersey. Accessed February 27, 2022. https:// www.nj.gov/nj/about/history/short_history.html.
16. Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
17. Ibid.
18. Ibid.
19. James. “Release of James, Duke of York to John Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret, Original Proprietors of the Colony of New Jersey, June 24, 1664.” England: England, June 24, 1664.
20. Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
21. Newman, Andrew. “Treaty of Shackamaxon.” The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) at Rutgers-Camden. Accessed February 27, 2022. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/ treaty-of-shackamaxon-2/.
22. Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
23. Ibid.
24. "Walking Purchase.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Accessed February 28, 2022.
25. Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016
26. “Laws and Treaties. - Smithsonian Institution.” National Museum of the American Indian. Smithsonian Institution. Accessed February 28, 2022. https://americanindian.si.edu/static/nationtonation/pdf/Treaty-with-the-Delawares-1778.pdf.
27. Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
28. Ibid.
29. Minutes of Conferences, Held at Easton, in October, 1758: With the Chief Sachems and Warriors of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onodagoes, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroras, Tuteloes, Skamiadaradigronas, Etc. Philadelphia: Printed and sold by B. Franklin, and D. Hall, 1758.
30. Soderlund, Jean R. Lenape Country Delaware Valley Society before William Penn. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc, 2016.
31. Davis, Jennifer. “Chief Standing Bear and His Landmark Civil Rights Case.” Chief Standing Bear and His Landmark Civil Rights Case | In Custodia Legis: Law Librarians of Congress. Library of Congress, November 21, 2019. https://blogs.loc.gov/ law/2019/11/chief-standing-bear-and-his-landmark-civil-rights-case/.
32. "Voting Rights for Native Americans; Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress . The Library of Congress. Library of Congress. Accessed March 23, 2022. https:// www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/right-to-vote/voting-rights-for-native-americans/#:~:text=The%20Snyder%20Act%20of%201924,rights%20granted%20by%20this%20amendment.
33. “American Indian Religious Freedom Act Agencies: Citation ...” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - Office for Coastal Management. Accessed March 24, 2022. https://coast.noaa.gov/data/Documents/OceanLawSearch/Summary%20 of%20Law%20-%20American%20Indian%20Religious%20Freedom%20Act.pdf.
34. “Federal and State Recognized Tribes.” List of Federal and State Recognized Tribes. National Conference of State Legislatures. Accessed February 28, 2022. https:// www.ncsl.org/legislators-staff/legislators/quad-caucus/list-of-federal-and-staterecognized-tribes.aspx.
35. “Member Nations.” Southern First Nations Secretariat. Southern First Nations Secretariat. Accessed February 28, 2022. http://www.sfns.on.ca/member-nations.html.
36.  Lyell, David, Hapuhacquona, Tolomhon, and Mahlon Stacy. Ms. Indenture. New Jersey State Archives , 1702/3. Sale of land south of the Assunpink Creek from Indians Hapuhaquona and Tolomhon to David Lyell. Dated January 15, 1702 in Julian calendar (1703 in Gregorian calendar).
37. West Windsor Township: People - Purpose - Progress. West Windsor, New Jersey: West Windsor Township, 1964.
38. Walling, Richard S. Rep. Locating a Lenape Landscape: Tatamy’s Swamp. Edison, New Jersey: Communipaw Consulting, 2012.