450 Whose Revolution? The Delaware and the War for Independence

In December 1776, a Delaware Chief named White Eyes stood before the Second Continental Congress. He had not come to declare himself a revolutionary, nor had he come to pledge his loyalty to King George III. White Eyes came to test a promise.

What does the American Revolution look like to people for whom independence was never a question? For the Delaware, also known as the Lenape, the War for Independence raised older and harder questions:

Whose word could be trusted? What choices can we make about whether to fight, stay neutral, or flee that might let our community remain itself on the land we know?

Jeremy Johnson, Cultural Education Director for the Delaware Tribe of Indians, traces Lenape and Delaware history from long before European contact through the American Revolution. He also introduces us to the September 1778 Treaty of Fort Pitt, the first treaty the United States made with a Native Nation and which promised a 14th Native state.

Delaware Tribe of Indians’ Website

Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/450

EPISODE OUTLINE

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:35 The Lenape Experience of the American Revolution

00:07:56 Lenape History and Indigenous Origin Stories

00:10:52 Diplomacy in Lenape Traditions

00:15:32 Evolution of Lenape Diplomacy Through European Contact

00:20:00 The Walking Purchase of 1737

00:24:55 Lenape Experiences of the Seven Years' War

00:32:13 Lenape Participation in Pontiac's Rebellion

00:37:17 The Delaware and the American Revolution

00:46:32 Negotiating the Treaty of Fort Pitt

00:50:16 The Hope for Delaware Sovereignty

00:52:53 The Delaware People & America's 250th

01:00:02 Time Warp

01:02:41 Resources

RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES

🎧 Episode 163: The American Revolution in North America

🎧 Episode 264: The Treaty of Canandaigua

🎧 Episode 286: Elections in Early America: Native Sovereignty

🎧 Episode 323: American Expansion and the Political Economy of Plunder

🎧 Episode 397: Native Nations: A Millennium in North America

🎧 Episode 449: Stealing America: Indigenous Enslavement & the American Revolution

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