Lenape

The Lenape (/ləˈnɑːpi/) are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government. They are also called Delaware Indians and their historical territory was along the Delaware River watershed, western Long Island and the Lower Hudson Valley.

Most Lenape were pushed out of their Delaware homeland during the 18th century by expanding European colonies, exacerbated by losses from intertribal conflicts. Lenape communities were weakened by newly introduced diseases, mainly smallpox, and violent conflict with Europeans. Iroquois people occasionally fought the Lenape. Surviving Lenape moved west into the upper Ohio River basin. The American Revolutionary War and United States' independence pushed them further west. In the 1860s, the United States government sent most Lenape remaining in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma and surrounding territory) under the Indian removal policy. In the 21st century, most Lenape now reside in the US state of Oklahoma, with some communities living also in Wisconsin, Ontario (Canada) and in their traditional homelands.

Lenape (disambiguation)

Lenape are a Native American people.

Lenape may also refer to:

Delaware languages

The Delaware languages, also known as the Lenape languages, are Munsee and Unami, two closely related languages of the Eastern Algonquian subgroup of the Algonquian language family. Munsee and Unami were spoken aboriginally by the Lenape people in the vicinity of the modern New York City area in the United States, including western Long Island, Manhattan Island, Staten Island, as well as adjacent areas on the mainland: southeastern New York State, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and coastal Delaware.

Classification

Munsee and Unami are assigned to the Algonquian language family, and are analysed as members of Eastern Algonquian, a subgroup of Algonquian.

The languages of the Algonquian family constitute a group of historically related languages descended from a common source language, Proto-Algonquian. The Algonquian languages are spoken across Canada from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic coast; on the American Plains; south of the Great Lakes; and on the Atlantic coast. Many of the Algonquian languages are now extinct.

Lenape (potato)

Lenape (B5141-6) is a potato variety first released in 1967 and named after the Lenape Native American tribe. It was bred by Pennsylvania State University in collaboration with the Wise Potato Chip Company from Delta Gold and a wild Peruvian potato (Solanum chacoense) known for its resistance to insects. It was selected for its high specific gravity (percentage dry matter) and low sugar content which made it ideal for producing potato chips but it was also immune to potato virus A and resistant to common strains of late blight. It is of medium-late maturity and produces round, white tubers with shallow eyes.

Glycoalkaloid content

After the Lenape variety was released for commercial production, a potato breeder in Ontario ate some to see if they may be suitable as new potatoes but soon felt nauseous. When the same occurred next time he ate them, he sent a sample to be analysed by a biochemist who found they contained exceptionally high levels of glycoalkaloids (mainly solanine and chaconine), the natural toxins found in potatoes that help protect them from pests and disease. Lenape potatoes collected from around Canada were found to contain over 16–35 mg of glycoalkaloids per 100 g of fresh potato compared to 3–18 mg in other varieties. Samples grown at 39 locations around the US had an average of 29 mg per 100 g of potato but ranged from 16–65 mg compared to an average of 8 mg for five other varieties. Previously, high levels of glycoalkaloids in potatoes were associated with damage during harvest or potatoes that turned green due to exposure to light, rather than being genetically determined. The variety was removed from the market in 1970 and scientists recommended that in future new potato varieties be tested for their glycoalkaloid content before widespread distribution.