Additional information
by John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder (Author)
First published by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania in 1818, History, Manners, and Customs of the Indian Nations provides an account of the Lenni Lenape and other tribes in the mid-Atlantic region, looking at their history and relations with other tribes and settlers, as well as their spiritual beliefs, government and politics, education, language, social institutions, dress, food, and other customs. The text, written by the Reverend John Heckewelder, a Moravian missionary based in Ohio and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, includes the author's observations, anecdotes, and advice, preserving not only his knowledge about the Indian nations in the eighteenth century but also his perspective, as a missionary and settler, on Native Americans and the often-fraught relationships between the tribes and European settlers. This version of the text, published in 1876, contains an introduction and notes by the Reverend William C. Reichel as well as a glossary of Lenape words and phrases and letters between the author and the then-president of the American Philosophical Society concerning the study of the Indian nations and their languages.
Author Biography
John Gottlieb Ernestus Heckewelder (1743-1823) was an English native, a cooper, and a Moravian missionary. He assisted at several treaties during the French and Indian War and worked as a postmaster, a justice of the peace, and an associate justice of the court of common pleas in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In the latter part of his life, he was devoted to literary work, and became known for his research and works on Native Americans.
