The Lenape Food

By, Juliet Nowak, Katie Mayer, Peter Sourbis, Muhammad Qutawna, and

Anthony Vallellanes

Preparation• Many of the Lenape Boys hunted and fished for food.

• Gathered fruit and nuts.

• Added maple sugar to make the cornmeal.

• Smoked meat and fish.

• Then dried in the sun, so they wouldn’t spoil.

• Prepared animal fat for cooking.

• Bear grease was like bug spray, was used to protect skin in cold

weather, and used to make hair shiny.

• Prepared soup, bread, puddings, and sarsaparilla soda.

• They prepared corn on the cob boiled, baked, or fried in bear

grease.

Harvest Ceremony

• Annual

• Religious ceremony

• 12 nights in October

• Men built “big houses,” 40 feet long 25 feet wide

• Sacred fired at the entrance of the big house each night

• House was decorated with 12 painted masks which represented their gods.

• Cooked deer meat on a fire

• The tribe prayed for the hunters and were very thankful

• They worshiped the sun and rain gods, because if there wasn’t sun or rain the crops would not grow

Fish and Meat

Fish• Fish that they caught was:

– Herring

– Shad

– Salmon

– Sturgeon

• Harpoons made of deer antler were sometimes used to spear large fish.

• Fish eggs and roe were hard to find so it was special when they found them once in a while.

• They used traps or long nets to catch other fish

• Fresh fish was usually cooked over a fire

• The women also wrapped the fish in clay and baked them in hot ashes

• When there was plenty of fish in the tribes, they would smoke the fish or try to dry them in the sun.

Meat

• Animals were hunted for meat, skins, sinew, and bones

• The bones were used as utensils. The meat was eaten. The skins were used for the bags to hold food.

• To prevent spoilage some meat were smoked and dried in the sun

• Mammals that they caught were:– Deer

– elk

– black bear

– raccoon

– beaver

– rabbit

• Deer was a blessing to the Lenape-it was used a lot for many other things

Birds and Vegetables

Birds• Were hunted and trapped

• Used bows, arrows, traps, and nets

• They ate the bird’s eggs

• They caught, geese, ducks, turkey, and passenger pigeons

• They used the feathers to make clothing and jewelry

• Hunters killed so many passenger pigeons they are now extinct.

Vegetables• Grew corn, beans, squash, blueberries,

tomatoes, cattail roots and peppers

• When the vegetables were ripe they ate

them right away, the rest they stored

away for the winter.

• Pumpkin and squash were cut into

rings and put on sticks to be dried in

the sun.

• Corn kernels and beans were kept in

skin bags to keep them from rotting.

• When the female was ready to prepare

the dried food, she boiled it in water

and it was soft enough to eat.

Utensils Utensils were very useful for the Lenape. They used things

in their area as bark plates, wooden bowls, spoons, and forks, to help them eat. Clay pots were used to store food and keep them fresh from spoiling, it would keep them cool. They used

animal skins as pouches to hold and keep food. These are some of the utensils used by the Lenape to help make their

lives easier.

Weapons Used• Weapons were very important to the part of the Lenape civilization. They made

tools from wood stones, bones, metals, minerals, and even their household items.• These were very great for hunting and keeping defense. • The lenape people used weapons as tools and they used them for hunting and

war with other Indian tribes. • Strategies- The Lenape used strategies to help them survive in the area they lived

in and they became more and more intelligent with their own tactics. • Lenape always used most of their strategies by learning their area and knowing

the land they live in and all the characteristics. • They kept camouflage with the grassy and tree land they lived in to hide from the

animals and attack them while not knowing. The lenape people were very agile. • Traps- These were very helpful to the Lenape people because they would always

make life easier for the people in catching their food and or enemies. They used vines, rocks, wood, leaves, and even they would wait for an animal to approach them so they can strike it and get it. These are some of the weapons, strategies, and traps the Lenape used to help them survive.

Shell Fish and Lenape• ShellfiSh were one of the lenape’S beSt food SourceS. they

would go to shores and try to gather them along the beach line as much as they could. This was one of their main food

sources because, they would not have to hunt them like deer. They would use nets, hooks, and even spears to catch

thiS food. they pronounced ShellfiSh “chitkëwale”. the Lenape would go by the ocean and find the shellfish on the

shore. There are still some places in New Jersey where people collect shellfish to eat. They would bring them home for their families to eat just like the Lenape did.