Munsee Indians
The Munsee Indians were part of the Delaware Indians, although they lived separately from the Delaware nation for most of their existence. Some scholars argue that the Munsee Indians should not be considered Delaware because of some stark differences in dialect. The United States referred to the Munsees as a separate tribe in the Treaty of Fort Industry. The Munsee Indians were Algonquian Indians. The Algonquian Indians consisted of various tribes that spoke similar languages. The Munsees lived originally in New York and New Jersey, but they moved westward as whites forced them from the land. By the 1720s, the Munsee Indians had reached western Pennsylvania. There, missionaries from the Moravian Church attained some success in converting the Munsees to Christianity.
References and Suggested Reading
- Barr, Daniel P., ed. The Boundaries Between Us: Natives and Newcomers Along the Frontiers of the Old Northwest Territory, 1750-1850. Kent, OH: Kent State University Press, 2006. - Available from Amazon.com
- Bond, Beverley W., Jr. The Foundations of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society, 1941.
- Hurt, R. Douglas. The Ohio Frontier: Crucible of the Old Northwest, 1720-1830. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996. - Available from Amazon.com
- O'Donnell, James H., III. Ohio's First Peoples. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2004. - Available from Amazon.com
- Olmstead, Earl P. Blackcoats Among the Delaware: David Zeisberger on the Ohio Frontier. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1991 - Available from Amazon.com
- Ricky, Donald B., ed. Encyclopedia of Ohio Indians. St. Clair Shores, MI: Somerset Publishers, Inc., 1998. - Available from Amazon.com
Time Periods
Citation
"Munsee Indians", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005, http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=613
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