The Lenni-Lenape People: Yesterday and Today

This unit explores the history both present and past of the Lenni-Lenape People.  Students in our elementary schools learn of the history of Native Americans.  Rarely do they look at what Native peoples are doing in the present tense.  Native Americans have been actively working towards rebuilding their communities and language since Europeans first set foot in North America.  They have been politically active, both locally and nationally, to re-member their own Nations, regain sovereignty, and educate Americans about the importance of keeping their cultures alive.

This unit is created for fourth graders, but can be easily modified for fifth graders, who study American History.  Students will learn of the history of the Lenni-Lenape people and why they moved from the eastern part of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York.  While integrating literacy and social studies skills, they will explore cultural objects of the Lenni-Lenape people, create soapstone carvings, reflect on events surrounding treaties and migration, and visit the Native American Voices: The People –Here and Nowexhibit at the Penn Museum.  The exhibit will be open until 2019, with objects that will rotate in and out of the exhibit so that we can benefit from the hundreds of objects that Penn Museum has in its collection.