The traditions and ceremonies of the Order of the Arrow are based upon the culture of the Native American Indians specifically of those who inhabited the area near Philadelphia were the Order was founded- the Delaware Indians. The Delawares called themselves the Lenni Lenape’, translated in their Algonquin Language, “The Original People.” At the time of the white man’s arrival, it is estimated that 8,000 Delaware people and over 90 tribes established in the present states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Delaware.

     The lengthy history of these people (Delaware Indians), is given in the Walam Olum (Red Score’), a pictographic account of the world’s history from creation to the appearance of the white man. It is also supplemented by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque who translated the Walum Olum in a Poetic style in about the 1830's.

     The Lenni Lenape’s first contact with the white man occurred during the leadership of Chief Mattanikum, when the Swedish first landed in their territory. The Swedes were soon followed by the Dutch and then the English Quakers, who negotiated several treaties; the first between the two nations in the new world, through William Penn. These treaties, the most important of which was signed in 1653 by W. Penn and Delaware Chief Tamenend (immortalized by the New York’s Tammany Hall), established peaceful colonization and coexistence and promised that the two peoples (nations) would “Live together, and to Love one and other, as long as the sun gave light However, after W. Penn’s death, his son Thomas Penn was not nearly as generous. In 1737, T. Penn tricked the Delaware people out of 1,200 square miles of living and hunting land in The Walking Purchase which stated, it would cover all the land a man could walk in three days.

     By about the early 1700's, the Lenni Lenape’ people had been weakened by the fog of alcohol consumption and the decimation of their ranks from diseases like smallpox, measles and tuberculosis; Also many battles with the Susquehannas people, were diminishing the Lenape’ people in the west . Subsequently, The Iroquois, who claimed sovereignty over the Delaware People, began selling their land to the English settlers. To escape this rule, many Lenni Lenape people migrated west into the Ohio Territories in 1751, where they formed the nucleus of an anti-Iroquois coalition. When the French an Indian War broke out in 1754, this coalition allied itself with the French to oppose the Pro-British/ Iroquois and were featured in the defeat of Frye in 1754 and the repulsion of Braddock; (who had offered a scalp bounty of 200 British Pounds for the Delaware War captain Shinngass as compared to five British Pounds for an ordinary French soldier), at Fort Duquesne near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1755. Nevertheless in 1756 the Lenni Lenape’ were appeased by the diplomacy of Conrad Weiser , the Pennsylvania’s Indian ambassador and the influence of (Tedyuskund), a important Delaware Chief, who was satisfied with the guarantee that fraudulent land sales would be corrected, thus the French alliance had been dissolved in 1757.

     In 1758 land was set aside for this purpose in Burlington County, New Jersey, It was the First “Indian Reservation”. The Lenape’s had relinquished all rights to New Jersey, except for hunting and fishing privileges. The Reservation was known as “Brotherton”, ran by Reverend John Brainerd who hoped that all men would be brothers. However, the reservation did not last, because some tribal members were not content and some joined the Pontiac’s United Indian Nation. This organization participated in the futile siege of Fort Pitt in 1763.

     In 1778, The newly formed United States of America signed its first treaty with an Native Indian Tribe (The Lenni Lenape’).The treaty negotiated by Alimi, (White eyes), and Geleleund (Buck Killer or Kill-Buck), provided for the Delaware People, support or the revolution against their long standing enemies. The British and Iroquois, in return for the formulation of an Indian nation state with representation in Congress, under the leadership of the Delaware People. However, the treaty like so many others didn’t last; the treaty wasn’t really recognized by the American Congress prior to the agreement. The American Government was unable to prevent Settlers and Frontiersmen from murdering the Native Indians of the American Frontier, Including the killing of the Lenni Lenape’ Chief Unaniwi (The Turtle), and the Massacre of 95 un-armed Christian Delawares at a peace tribal camp in eastern Ohio in 1782.. This incident led the Lenni Lenapes, under War Chief HopoKa’n (Strong Pipe) to retaliate with numerous raids against American Settlement along the great smokey mountain frontier and small town in New York , Pennsylvania territories. These hostilities continued for twelve years, until President G. Washington appointed a Revolutionary War General, Anthony Wayne to advance and attack the Lenni Lenape’ war parties in the nearby Ohio Valley. On August 20^th 1794 General A. Wayne defeated the War Parties at The Battle of Fallen Timbers, Which led to the cession of Native Indian lands east of the Mississippi River boundary.

      A total of 18 treaties were signed between the United States and the Delaware Nation, which ended up moving their Tribal Nation to Missouri in 1795 and some who wanted to live free from United States rule migrated to Canada in 1802. In 1835 The remaining Lenape’ tribe was then moved to Kansas, and finally to Western Oklahoma in 1867. Upon the arrival In Western Oklahoma each remaining Lenni Lenape’ Tribal Member was awarded 160 acres of land.

     Today, approximately 1000 Lenni Lenapes’ are listed in the Tribal membership rolls in their overseeing agency’s headquarters in Anadarke, Oklahoma....

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