November is
Native American Heritage Month and what better way to observe it than to recognize the Native American tribe which preceded our township.
The land which is currently known as Edison was originally inhabited by the
Lenni-Lenape. Meaning “the original people,” the Lenni-Lenape lived on land that included most of central New Jersey, as well as Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New York. The majority of their villages were along the river valleys, like the Raritan and Delaware Rivers, which allowed them to easily tend crops like corn, beans, and squash.
The women of the Lenape tribe were responsible for tending the crops while the men hunted and fished. One technique used by the Lenape for fishing was to add ground chestnuts to the water, which dazed the fish and made them easier to catch by hand.
As far as hunting, the Lenape relied on deer as the staple of their meat, and just like most Native American tribes, they used all parts of the animal after the hunt. The Lenape also hunted turkey, which were plentiful in the area—and still can be seen in some areas around Edison—and used the birds’ feathers in their clothing and headdress.
As with most native American tribes, the Lenape suffered greatly due to diseases brought over by the first settlers. Chicken pox, smallpox, and measles decimated the Lenape in New Jersey, and the surviving tribespeople were forced westward in the latter half of the 18th century as the Europeans continued to expand their territory. Currently, New Jersey only has three state-recognized tribes left in its borders, while a group of Lenni-Lenape in Oklahoma consider themselves direct descendants of the New Jersey Lenape.
The Lenape Center in New York works hard to preserve the history and heritage of the Lenape tribe. For more information, visit them at
thelenapecenter.com.
