The Delaware Indians: A History (Paperback)

~ (Author) "During the weekend of June 5, 6, 7, 1970, I attended a powwow as the guest of a Delaware Indian family..." (more)
Key Phrases: white increments, diminished reserve, reserved lands, United States, Six Nations, Delaware Indian (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 564 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (January 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813514940
• ISBN-13: 978-0813514949
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #497,002 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #23 in	Books > History > United States > State & Local > Delaware
  #23 in	Books > History > Americas > Native American > Northeast

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent, well-researched study of Delaware Indians, November 15, 1998

By A Customer

Weslager combines a flair for description with a scholarly tone to produce what is to date the most fair, accurate study of the Delaware Indians, or Lenni Lenape. Using historical, archealogical, anthropological, and ethnohistorical evidence, Weslager provides an almost complete history of this often neglected Indian tribe. This work is a must read for anyone interested in the early history of the mid-Atlantic region.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The First Book was the Best, February 25, 2005

By	Dana Garrett - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Delaware Indians was the first book I read on the Lenape. ("Delawares" was the name given by European colonists to the Lenape people.) After reading many other books on the Lenape, Weslager's work remains the best book on the subject I've read.

As striking as the exemplary research demonstrated in the book is its accessible style. Cleary Weslager took great pains to make the story of the relatively unknown Lenape people available to as wide an audience as possible. The book is a complete history of the Lenape, and its source material is oral traditions carried down by the Lenape, colonial records and writings, and 20th century records and personal narratives as well.

Weslager also describes Lenape customs, ceremonies and beliefs. His description of the Lenape Big House Ceremony is fascinating. Weslager's accounts of the successive betrayals, deceptions and crimes of the European colonists and their American descendants track the disastrous trail of the Lenape from their original homeland to present day Oklahoma. Readers can easily sense that Weslager's sympathies for the Lenape people border on advocacy. Unsurprisingly, Weslager ends the book by describing the Lenape's attempt to receive compensation owed to them by the USA government for over 100 years.

I highly recommend this book and others by Weslager as well.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars PERFECT, April 7, 2002

A Kid's Review

I thought this book was perfect! I had a HUGE paper to write on the Lenni-Lenape/Delaware tribe and I couldn't find much information on them. I found this book, I bought it, I read it, I loved it, I wrote my paper using some information from it, and I got an A+ on my paper. I learned so much from this beautifully written book!