Product Description
This digital document is an article from Dictionary of American History, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 303 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Focuses on cultures and countries around the world, specifically what is and is not shared culturally by the people who live in a particular country. Entries contain descriptive summaries of the country in question, including demographic, historical, cultural, economic, religious, and political information. ... Read more

Product Description
After moving to her ancestral home in northern New Jersey, fourteen-year-old Becca discovers a Native American ghost and a startling family secret. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Underrated book; good read
I liked this book and didn't find the PC-ness overwhelming, frankly.Norma Johnston is all about exploring the way America lives and has lived, and this book is supposed to be a capsule of Americana at the turn of the 21st century.I don't think the religious or ethnic composition of the heroine's friends is at all unusual (or jarring or even noteworthy, actually) for modern times.The mystic, otherworldliness of the ghost story surely isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was well done, and very touching.While this isn't Norma Johnston's very best work, and I personally like her historical novels better (Of Time and of Seasons, the Keeping Days stories), I think it is one of her better contemporaries.I'm glad to have read it.

Feather in the Wind Too Politically Correct
I was disappointed in this book. On top of weaknesses pointed out by other reviewers..., the book's Political Correctness got predictable and boring. The heroine blames Whites for the massacre of an Indian tribe, but nothing is said about the massacres American Indians performed on each other. The heroine has a black friend and a Jewish friend and a grandfather "Pappy" and Mom and Dad who are simplistic caricatures. Her dog Max is almost interesting but mostly he just has to be walked at times convenient for seeing The Ghost. All in all: no edge, just bland.

Good author, but disappointing book.
I love this author, especially anything in the Keeping Days series, including the many prequels/sequels. This heroine in this book, Becca Standish Robinson, does have a link to those books - I believe its supposed to be the same Standish family from the books set in Ocean Grove NJ.
This book was good, but didn't measure up to her other works.Some aspects of the book were just odd:take the grandfather, Pappy, who is supposed to be the beloved grandfather.To be blunt, Pappy is a control freak who dictates what the family does. He hides the grandmother's illness until its too late for any family member to return home; be buys a house that the family moves into without consulting the family; etc.Pappy keeps making important decisions and taking control of situations, until the mother and father are reduced to little more than additional children in the family. No one ever objects!Pappy's treatment of other family members -- and the family members passive acceptance of it -- left a bad taste in my mouth.

Good Story
I really enjoyed this book.I disagree strongly with the opinions in the published editorial review--I'm glad I read the book despite the editorial review's somewhat defensive negativity, because had I skipped it, I would have missed a very good read.

The story is very different from your typical young adult book--it is set in 1999/2000, with the heroine moving from Europe to rural New Jersey after the death of her grandmother.As she makes new friends and adapts to her new home, she learns to come to peace with herself, her family history and the death of loved ones.Along the way, she discovers that she can see the ghost of a Native American ancestor, and ultimately is able to help him find the peace that has eluded him over the years.I found the book to be interesting and somewhat thought provoking, with a very real view of family relationships.Enjoy! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an OCR edition without illustrations or index. It may have numerous typos or missing text. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website (GeneralBooksClub.com). You can also preview excerpts of the book there. Purchasers are also entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge. Subjects: History / General; History / Native American; Social Science / Ethnic Studies / Native American Studies; ... Read more

Product Description
"A new translation, interpreted by linguistic, historical, archaeological, ethnological, and physical anthropological studies. " ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

What Did Delaware? Try This on for Size -- a review by garrie keyman
What did Delaware? Try This on for Size.
a review by garrie keyman
of Sonia Bleeker's The Delaware Indians: Eastern Fishermen and Farmers


I recently encountered Sonia Bleeker's absorbing children's book, The Delaware Indians (1953 William Morrow & Co.) during a library excursion with my ten-year-old daughter. Part of a larger body of children's books about various Native American Tribes, Bleeker's work puts an affable face on history and brings it to life by taking the reader on an intimate day-to-day visit with one family.

Accompanied by illustrator Patricia Boodell's warmly endearing if simple artwork, The Delaware Indians is exactly the kind of book I would have found enticing when I was ten, one book from precisely the kind of series I would have avidly sought to collect.

Meet the residents of Oyster Village, a village of the Lenape (the oldest of the Algonquin) tribe living on the eastern seaboard of what eventually would become the United States; the year, approximately 1583. Specifically, meet one young boy (Elkhair) and his family, including his grandfather, the village sachem, his mother, his father, his infant brother and his older sister, Gathers-nuts-girl.

As the family goes about their daily tasks, the young reader goes along, worshiping and give thanks to the spirit world, participating in ceremonies and traditions important to their way of life, and getting a close-up view of the homes, clothing, meals and social customs of their Native American hosts. Bleeker wraps up her 152 page book with a chapter (a century hence) on the historic meeting and consequent treaty between the Native American leader, Tamanend (for whom Tammany Hall in NYC would later be named), and William Penn.

Along the way readers are treated to interesting details, such as the origins of the name Delaware (after the Englishman, Lord De La Warr) and New Jersey's Cape May (after the Dutchman, Jacobsen May).

As a former homeschool mom, I can say I would love to have discovered this series when my sons were younger. Bleeker's work appeals to me as particularly great for lower- to middle-elementary aged students, especially as shared reading between parent and child. Unfortunately, these books are likely out of print and may be difficult to find, though tracking them down might be fun and definitely would be worthwhile.

Now excuse me, I have a reading date with another of Bleeker's books.
... Read more

Product Description
Susanna Hutchinson is nine years old in l643, when her mother, Anne, has a vision that leads the family to settle in the wilderness where the Dutch and the Native tribes are at war. Anne is infamous throughout the Colonies for her religious freethinking, and her visions have brought the family in and out of trouble.

One horrifying afternoon, Lenape warriors massacre Susanna's family and take her captive. Though haunted by grief, she adapts to the ways of the Lenape people. When she begins to have spirit dreams, she is terrified that she has inherited her mother's powers. But Susanna comes to see that these powers are her destiny and the bridge between her two worlds. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

This Isn't Entirely Fiction
This book is labeled as "fiction", but the entire storyline actually happened. Susannah Hutchinson, one of my ancestors, WAS kidnapped by the indians after her mother and brothers and sisters were massacred. The author simply changed a few names here and there; the fiction is derived mostly from what the author imagines Susannah's four years with the indians might have been like. The actual indian tribe that took her was the Siwanoy and it is true that when they agreed to return her, she wanted to remain with the tribe. In fact, she had trouble remembering the English language. I have no problem with this book, but I believe children should look up the REAL story and discover a piece of our country's actual history. I loved the comments on how this plotline is not very original. Perhaps someone should have told that to the indians back in 1643 and they would have spared the whole family.

A Exellent Book!
I addmit it toke me only 4 or 5 hours to read this book even though I did other things between reading it. I love this book and I would read it over 1000 times!! It was a great book and I loved the fact that it talked about Indian's in it!! It talks all about when the Lenape's toke her captive,how she survived,how she found a lost Lenape child with her visions,how she came to love her Lenape Indian family and what she learned. I love this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trouble's Daughter, a reader's point of view
I absolutely LOVED this book.I've read it over so many times, I've practically memorized half the book.Here is a summary/essay I wrote on it:

Anne Hutchinson.She is notorious throughout all the colonies.She is a rebel.She speaks in front of large crowds, criticizing the ministers of the churches.She has visions.She was banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony.She is stubborn.She is believed to be a witch.She is the wife of William Hutchinson.She is the mother of many children, one of which is Susanna Hutchinson.She is trouble.

Susanna Hutchinson.She is an Indian captive.She is an orphan.She is the lone survivor of a massacre.Her only family is far away and does not know where she is.She is living among strangers.She is becoming more accustomed to the Indian ways.She is living in the house of her mother¡¦s murderer.She is getting visions.She is trouble¡¦s daughter.

Read a novel about a young girl who is torn from the life she has always known and thrown into another one.Susanna begins to accept the fact that she will never be rescued and soon grows to like the idea.She lives her life with the Indians as if she was always there.But, will she remain with her Indian family, or will she be taken back to a British community?

Trouble's Daughter: The Story of Susanna Huchinson
I just read this book and it is very good!I loved it! It is about a girl who is taken captive by Indians. At first she hates it, but over the years she grows to love the Indians. Then she gets a chance to go live with long-lost family. She must decide between her two worlds. I thought it was very inspiring and I definitely reccomend it to anyone!

My Favorite Book!
I loved this book. I've read it at least ten times. I love how the book Uses indian words, even if they are fake. It gives you a feel for the time period. Every time I read this book I cry. Anybody who likes Indian Stories, Will love this one. ... Read more

Product Description
A collection of twenty-five creation stories, trickster stories, and stories about children is culled from Lenape tradition and accompanied by a glossary and pronunciation guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Stories 4th Graders Love
I teach 4th grade in Newark, New Jersey, and wanted to do some work on the Lenape with my kids. The stories in this book were so appealing to them that they tell them to each other and act them out when I read them. Their favorite story is the one about the White Deer, because of the gory scene where a person gets their legs bitten off by a monster, but then sticks them back on with spit. I highly recommend these stories if you can stand the imagery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Masterful Biography of a Great Missionary to the American Indians
Note: Some immature Mormon is angry over my negative reviews of books written to prove the Book of Mormon, and that person has been slamming my reviews.

Your comments or "helpful" votes are appreciated. Thanks

I was disappointed that one reviewer only gave this wonderful biography three stars. It deserves five. I thought he gave a good review, but he ended on a negative and illogical note. He said, "I don't think anyone could be disappointed in this book if they are interested in either the time period or David Zeisberger. As a book on Zeisberger, this should be a 5 star, but as a book in general, a 3 is about it."???

Olmstead's biography of David Zeisberger, the compassionate missionary to the Indians in the 1700s, is well written and fascinating. The book is not about the origins of Mormonism, but Olmstead's portrait of Zeisberger's world provides many insights into the origins of Mormonism.

In describing the religious and culturally diverse melting pot that was the early United States, Olmstead prepares the reader for the study of the origins of Mormonism. Colonial diversity was striking. As early as 1646, there were more than eighteen European languages spoken in the Hudson River Valley and with them, of course, sprang fountains of cultural and religious folklore.

It is now possible to see how, almost of necessity, that the religious stew that had been brewing in the 1700s would boil over into something new in the early 1800s. Consider the population of Pennsylvania about the time of the American Revolution.

There were a myriad of Indian groups, and the settlers consisted of German, English, Scotch-Irish, Scots, Swedes, Finns, Dutch, French, Welsh, Swiss, and black Africans. There were more religious denominations than European groups, among them English Quakers, German Quakers, Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, German Pietists, Mennonites, German Baptist Brethren, Schwenkfelders, Moravians, Lutherans, Reformed Germans, Anglicans, Dutch Reformed, Jews, Roman Catholics, Huguenots, and smaller sects such as Conrad Beisel's Seventh-Day Baptist Monks and Nuns at Ephrata (p. 113).

Had Earl P. Olmsted in his life of David Zeisberger been concerned with the origins of Mormonism, he might also have mentioned that Conrad Beisel practiced baptism for the dead and was invested with the Melchisedek priesthood. Conrad Weiser, another Ephrata monk, took the name of "Enoch," the same name later used by Joseph Smith. The monks at Ephrata also strongly opposed infant baptism and the use of alcohol and tobacco.

Thus, as always in the world, the young stand on the unique foundation of the previous generation. Zeisberger, the great Moravian missionary among the Indians, and translator of the Bible into Indian languages, died in 1808 when Joseph Smith was just three years old. The Indians and Indian Wars of the Northeast had already passed into stories told by men sitting around the general store.

The rough percentages of different Ethnic groups in Pennsylvania by 1760 were: English (40%), German (30%), Scotch-Irish (20%), and 10% for other groups. So there were a lot of German immigrants in America. (p. 136).

Significantly, there was some talk after the American Revolution about whether English or German should be the national language!

Good writing and wonderful history
This is a extremely well researched book. While not a "can't-put-it-down" book, it is written in a style that keeps one interested. It doesn't have the more exciting style of, say, The Frontiersman by Allan Eckert, but it is a good read non-the-less. There is plenty of history here, plenty of information about the Indians of the time, politics, characters, etc. However, so much history is covered that it is impossible to cover any part in great depth which makes it difficult to feel that one is part of the action. Instead, the book is more of the typical history book where one feels to be on the outside looking in.
I live near where much of this history takes place in Ohio, so I find the history of this area more interesting than some, and I don't understand why David Zeisberger doesn't get more mention in history. This is a fascinating person.Fascincating enough that his history could be written in a more exciting style by the right author.However, this isn't a put down, as this is the best book on the subject I have read.
The book starts out with the childhood of Zeisberger, which is a little slow reading. This information is important, though, as it shows what environment Zeisberger grew up in and how it affected his life later.
However, I was more interested in the years between 1740-1782. This is a wonderfully exciting time in Ohio history, and Olmstead covers it well. Because of the focus of the book, Olmstead covers events such as Braddock's Massacre in only a page or so, whereas there are entire books written on just this one battle. However, the book is about Zeisberger, and Olmstead relates how events such as these affected the lives of those around Zeisberger and the Moravian missions. The book takes us through the French and Indian War, into the Revolutionary War, and ends with the massacre of Christian Indians at Gnadenhutten, Ohio in 1782. Olmstead's history shows us how these peaceful (and not so peaceful) Indians' lives were affected by the events happening around them and to them.
This is a very "neutral" book. By that I mean, the book doesn't offer a slanted judgement of one side against the other; it simply tells what happens. For example, both the good and the bad of the Indians are pointed out, giving us a true view of the Eastern Woodland Indians as real people, not just some distorted image of the "noble savage" fighting against the evil white men trying to steal his land.
Another book by Olmstead, "Blackcoats among the Delaware" covers Zeisberger's life after the period of this book, but I really think this is the better written book (of course, since I am more interested in the 1750-1780 time period, this may just be prejudice on my part).
Even forgetting David Zeisberger, this is a decent book on "Indian-Colonist relations," and how one event could influence another event many miles away.I don't think anyone could be disappointed in this book if they are interested in either the time period or David Zeisberger.As a book on Zeisberger, this should be a 5 star, but as a book in general, a 3 is about it. ... Read more

Product Description
Examining interactions between Native Americans and whites in eighteenth-century Pennsylvania, Jane Merritt traces the emergence of race as the defining difference between these neighbors on the frontier.

Before 1755, Indian and white communities in Pennsylvania shared a certain amount of interdependence. They traded skills and resources and found a common enemy in the colonial authorities, including the powerful Six Nations, who attempted to control them and the land they inhabited. Using innovative research in German Moravian records, among other sources, Merritt explores the cultural practices, social needs, gender dynamics, economic exigencies, and political forces that brought Native Americans and Euramericans together in the first half of the eighteenth century.

But as Merritt demonstrates, the tolerance and even cooperation that once marked relations between Indians and whites collapsed during the Seven Years' War. By the 1760s, as the white population increased, a stronger, nationalist identity emerged among both white and Indian populations, each calling for new territorial and political boundaries to separate their communities. Differences between Indians and whites--whether political, economic, social, religious, or ethnic--became increasingly characterized in racial terms, and the resulting animosity left an enduring legacy in Pennsylvania's colonial history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Critical addition to the literature on this topic
Jane Merritt makes an excellent addition to the discussion of Indians in the Mid-Atlantic region during the age of empire.This is a complex topic and Merritt does an excellent job of sorting it out. On that note this is a complex topic and this is not a book a novice in the subject would want to start with.It assumes knowledge of the Iroquois and the covenant chain as well as the Seven Years war.(See my other reviews for suggestions on those topics).

Merritt's book analyzes a variety of cross sections of Delaware Indian culture and their relation with Pennsylvania's (Quakers, proprietors, and frontiersman), Iroquois, and the French.She looks at the role of language, women and religion and how these each affected the relationships between the various groups.Utilizing sources from local to state level she is able to get at a large cross section that allows for significant corroboration.Unlike many where there is an Indian view and a colonial view in this case there we have a variety of colonial sources since they each represented a different viewpoint.The book chronologically covers the famed Walking Purchase during the time of William Penn to the conclusion of the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) and how it shaped the frontier.The idea that Indians and colonists lived at a crossroads where trade dictated interactions are thoroughly explored.For those who want to gain a greater understanding of the Mid-Atlantic world in colonial times you cannot go wrong with this book.

A good reference on pre-independence America 1700-1763
Jane Merritt gives an inside expose, on the clash of cultures in the Mid-Atlantic frontier(Delaware,Pennsylvania,Virginia etc.). The early relationship between a young Colonel George Washington of England and the Delawares is highlighted. The initial interaction between Washington and the Delawares, was poor. This lead to early military defeats to the French. The dynamics of the 7 years war, which changed the harmony of this region dramatically, is examined.

The odd antagonistic relationship between the Delawares and the Iroquois 6 Nations is analyzed to the fullest. It appears the Iroquois sold Delaware land inappropriately (walking purchase Treaty). You will gain insight into famous chiefs such as Delaware chief Shingas and chief Teedyuscung.

The shrewd business dealings of the European settlers is analyzed. You are made aware how simple semantics could misconstrue entire Treaties and agreements. Overall this book does a good job in clarifying, certain key points, in a very complex period, in American history. ... Read more

Product Description
Louise discovered, even as a child, that she was having prophetic dreams, and often was frightened by contacts with the spiritual world. Her ancestry is Mohawk and Lenni-Lenape, famous for their psychic abilities. She tells about her family life with Mama, Papa, chums, family pets and strange happenings that keep one turning pages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

King of the Delawares: Teedyuscung
Anthony F. C. Wallace, like his father, Paul A. W. Wallace, is an acknowledged authority on the Lenni Lenape, or Delaware, and this book is one of his finest. It tells the story of the enigmatic Teedyuscung fairly, accurately, and (at times) grippingly.

Interestingly, the flow of thebook reflects the uneven, back-and-forth fortunes of Teedyuscung and hispeople in eighteenth century America, which can be somewhat dizzying forsome readers. But it is well worth the effort, and the persevering readerwill be rewarded.

The maps that are included in the volume are so helpfulthat one might wish there were more, but that fault is easily overlooked. ... Read more