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 The
land around Koinonia, and most of North America, was first inhabited by
Native Americans. Each tribe was unique, with its own language and customs.
The tribe in our area were the Leni Lenape, or Delaware Indians. There villages
were usually along the Delaware River and some of them may have come to
this land for hunting and fishing. They were also farmers, so this land
was not good farm land, but did have (and still has) an abundance of wildlife
and fish. Americans, including the Lenape, understood their connection to
the land and how important it was to take care of all life. They considered
the plants and animals their "relatives" - we all need the earth to survive
and all were made by the Creator. If we could learn to have a similar reverence
for all the life that God has created, we would be able to take better care
of His gifts. Lenape Village was built as a place to learn about the culture
of our first inhabitants and to learn some of their history so that we can
better understand some of the problems and struggles faced by modern Native
Americans today. There is some evidence that they used the land around Koinonia.
Old trails criss-cross up from the Delaware River. A few tools and artifacts
have been found in the area. Tom Quick, who was an Indian Killer, was said
to have hidden out in a cave on nearby Highland Lake. There is a rock shelter,
a "cave", below our village site, that could have been used as temporary
shelter by hunters. As you hike to the village, try to imagine what it was
like here hundreds of years ago..
The trail to Lenape Village is about a mile long, either from the Trailbuilding or the Conference Center. Follow the Yellow Trail down to the floating bridge and cross the lake. As you cross, look to your left and see the mass of plants growing on top of the water - this is a bog. On top of the bog you will see a pile of sticks - a beaver lodge. Bogs: A bog is a relatively stagnant body of water collected in a depression, that is partially or completely covered by a floating mat of vegetation. In many places, this mat is strong enough to support the weight of large mammals. Most northern bogs resulted from the last ice age, when a mile-high sheet of ice covered Canada and the northern United States. As the glacier moved, it gouged depressions in the earth. As the climate warmed, the ice begin to melt and to retreat. The depressions filled with the melting ice. The resulting "lake" was a cold, stagnant pool of water. which is the perfect prelude to bog formation. Slowly, as the lake aged, sediments from erosion and organic material began to fill in depressions. Gradually, several types of plants were able to grow and formed the thick mat. Beavers Beavers have lived on our lake for a long time.Beavers were once almost hunted to extinction, but have made a comeback. They use their sharp front teeth for cutting down trees, and you may see some of these downed trees along the trail. They eat the smaller bran~branches and leaves, use some branches for building their homes, and to keep their teeth sharp and worn down. The beavers on our lake don't need to build a dam--other beavers will build one if they live on a stream in order to create a pond or small lake. Their flat tails serve as rudders when they swim and as balance when they are cutting down trees (not for tapping down mud as in cartoons). Follow the yellow trail until it intersects with the Red Trail, just a few minutes from the bridge, on your left. Now turn onto the Red Trail and follow it to Lenape. There is one steep hill on the trail. Near the top, the trail branches off. The Upper Trail is marked Red, but the lower trail has no markers on the trees. The Lower Trail leads to the rock shelter. Go up the hill from the cave and pick up a trail that leads to the village. Early in the history of Koinonia, people looked for evidence that Native Americans used our land. Some clues were found and a small archeological dig was conducted around the cave area. Enough signs were found to conclude that this area was used as hunting grounds. Look in the rock shelter and see the black on the overhang. The large slab on the ground looks like it was once attached to the rock, making a larger overhang. On the other side of the rock and near the ground is another shelter area. Both are very dry, even in the rain. In the summer of 1977, Ken Nilsen (Lenape Program Director), used the smaller shelter area as his sleeping quarters and proved that it was, and is, a usable shelter! Up the hill from the cave is a natural amphitheater that was worked on by campers and staff It is a place to gather for worships and group meetings. Wild animals have been known to attend some of these meetings or worships! Wigwams At the top of the village are 2 small
houses or wigwams. In a typical Lenape village, there were dwellings of
various sizes. Large family groups lived in Longhouses, which could be
up to 100 feet in length and have as many as 10 families living inside.
The families were all related. Longhouses were constructed in the same
manner as the wigwams: Young saplings were cut to make the frame and it
was covered by slabs of bark. Only the trees that were needed were cut
down and thanks were said for the trees to be used. The 2 wigwams are
covered by canvas (except in the winter). Once a material like canvas
became available, Native peoples probably would have used that too--much
easier that tanning hides or stripping bark off of trees! Also, the forest
looks different now--this area has been logged several times in the last
100 years or so and the current trees are relatively young. We would need
a lot more bark to cover a structure now! In the summers of 1976 and 1977,
campers and counselors did build a small longhouse on the site of one
of these wigwams. It was covered by bark that was stripped from the logs
used to build the cabin at Homestead. These two wigwams were built in
the summer of 1998 with the help of campers and counselors. Craft Structure Down the hill from the wigwams you will see a large, tarp covered structure. Crafts and other activities are conducted here. We are hoping to turn this structure into a longhouse sometime in the near future. Go right from the Craft Structure and follow the land down to the shore of the lake. Here you will find an old dugout canoe that was made by campers and counselors in 1977. It is very water-logged and doesn't float very well anymore. To make a dugout canoe, first cut down a large tree. Then start a small fire on the side you want to dig out. The fire softens the trunk and makes it easier to dig it out. There are plans to make another canoe soon. Lenapes were gardeners and in the 1970Ís, a garden was started in the village. It was difficult to keep going and to grow things: no one lives here to help tend it and the soil is very rocky. But the Lenapes wouldn't have had a permanent village here anyway; the soil along the Delaware (and other) rivers is much better for growing crops! The women of the village would plant, cultivate and harvest crops life corn, pumpkins, squash, beans and tobacco (which was used in ceremonies). The whole village worked and harvested in a single large garden. They would have posted a young boy to scare away any animals trying to get in the garden.
A village also would have had a sweat lodge, a small hut built like their homes and used in religious ceremonies. The whole ceremony, from building the lodge to what happened in the lodge and afterwards is very holy to Native Peoples and we have decided not to have one here out of respect for them. A brief description of the ceremony from the book, The Sacred Pipe,e as told to by Joseph Brown by Black Elk: "The Rite of Purification, or Sweat Lodge Ceremony. utilized all the powers of the Universe: earth and the things which grow from the earth, water, fire and air. Water represents the flowing of Wakan-tanka, the Great Spirit, giving His power and life to everything. The rocks used are part of Grandmother Earth, which also illustrates the everlasting nature of Wakan-tanka. The fire represents the great power of Wakan tanka and the hot coals placed in the center of the sweat lodge portrays the center of the Universe. Many different types of activities and crafts have been done here. It is best to have a camp staff person along to help with these. The woods around you provide the materials you need to live "your store". Would you be able to survive like Native Peoples did? Their lifestyle was harder in many ways, but also much simpler. Possible activities are listed below. Games Many of the games that children played taught them skills they would need when they grew up. One game we play teaches hunting skills: a hoop that has a web woven in the middle is rolled along the ground and the player tries to throw a spear through the middle. There are several games that teach eye-hand coordination, like catching a ball in a cup (still a popular toy today). Guessing and gambling games were also popular. Storytelling There are several books available that contain Native American legends.Storytelling was a popular activity, especially in the winter. The whole tribe would gather in a large Meeting House and listen to stories. Sometimes they would be true stories: that's how their history was remembered; sometimes they would teach the children a lesson, similar to Aesop's Fables; sometimes they would explain how or why something happened. We still enjoy stories today, but now they are usually in the form of movies and TV shows. But listening to stories lets you use your imagination more! Crafts The crafts that have been done here have varied with the staff members and their skills and knowledge. Baskets have been made with reeds, bark or ashwood splints. Clay has been collected and use to fashion small pots or medallions and then fired in a pit. Porcupine quills have been used to make necklaces or decorate birch bark. (These quills were a very popular decorating item among Native peoples. They used them to decorate their clothing, shoes, pouches, etc.) Small dream catchers have been made; many Native peoples believed dreams floated down to you at night. Parents would hang a dream catcher above a child's bed. This was a hoop with a web in the middle. The bad dreams would get caught in the web and the good dreams would be let through. Corn was one of.the things they grew, and cornhusk dolls were made from the husks. But the Lenape never made faces for their dolls, as they believed that only God can make a face. The ceremonies of any Native tribe were important parts of their lives. Many have special meanings to the tribes they come from and should be performed by their spiritual leaders. They had planting ceremonies, the sweat lodge ceremony, and name-giving ceremonies among others. In a name-giving ceremony, an elder of the tribe would bestow meaningful names on members of the tribe. The name would reflect something special about that person and be unique to that person. You can do part of this ceremony while at Lenape Village: come up with descriptive names for members of your group. They should reflect something positive about that person and be respectful of that person. Then explain why you choose that name. "What is almost unique in the Indian's attitude is the fact that his reverence for nature and for life is central to his religion; each form in the world around him bears such a host of precise values and meanings that taken all together they constitute what one could call his 'doctrine'." - Joseph Brown "The hearts of little children are pure, and, therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things which older people miss." - Black Elk "The Lakota was a true naturalist, a lover of nature. He loved the earth and all things of the earth, the attachment growing with age. The old people came literally to love the soil and they sat or reclined on the ground with a feeling of being close to a mothering power. It was good for the skin to touch the earth and the old people liked to remove their moccasins and walk with bare feet on the sacred earth... That is why the old Indian still sits upon the earth instead of propping himself up and away from its life-giving forces. For him, to sit or lie upon the ground is to be able to think more deeply and to feel more keenly; he can see more clearly into the mysteries of life and come closer in kinship to other lives about him... The old Lakota was wise. He knew that man' s heart away from nature becomes hard; he knew that lack of respect for growing, living things soon led to lack of respect for humans too. So he kept his youth close to its softening influence." - - Chief Luther Standing Bear, late 1800's |
