Sassafras is native to Lenapehoking and important in Lenape plant medicine, with therapeutic teas and oils made from the roots and bark.
Christina Rollo / Alamy Stock Photo
The Morgan Library & Museum stands on land that is part of Lenapehoking, the unceded ancestral homeland of the Lenape people. We acknowledge and pay respect to the original peoples of Lenapehoking, and we recognize the enduring significance of these lands and waterways for the Lenape Nations and the many Indigenous communities who live here today.
We also recognize the violent history of settler colonialism on the island of Manaháhtaan and beyond, and its ongoing impacts on Indigenous peoples and lands. We are committed to confronting this legacy in our work at the Morgan, and to honoring Indigenous voices.
Nora Thompson Dean
We also honor the work of Nora Thompson Dean (1907–1984), who dedicated herself to the survival and continuity of the Lenape language and culture. Known as “Touching Leaves Woman” (Weènchipahkihëlèxkwe) in the Unami dialect, Dean was born in Oklahoma and was a member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians. She was an herbalist, language educator, writer, translator, and oft-consulted expert on Lenape history and folkways. You can learn more about Nora Thompson Dean here.
Resources
For further information on the Lenape and Lenapehoking, please visit the online resources below:
Current federally-recognized Lenape (Delaware) tribes
United States
- Delaware Tribe of Indians (Bartlesville, OK)
- Delaware Nation (Anadarko, OK)
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Bowler, WI)
Canada
- Delaware Nation at Moraviantown (near Chatham-Kent, Ontario)
- Munsee-Delaware Nation (near St. Thomas, Ontario)
History of the Lenape (Delaware)
- History and forced removal, as provided by the Delaware Tribe of Indians
Additional resources
The Lenape Center has the mission of continuing Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland, through community, culture, and the arts.
This official dictionary of the Lenape language functions as an online learning tool to support Lenape language education. It includes audio clips of Lenape speakers, including Nora Thompson Dean.
Part of the Mannahatta Project by the Wildlife Conservation Society, this interactive map explores the natural history of Lenapehoking, specifically what is now New York City.
An interactive map of Indigenous territories, languages, and treaties across the world.