PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff John T. Kraft, director of Lenape Lifeways, discusses the history of the people who were the first to inhabit New Jersey. Kraft spoke to third-graders at the Griebling School, Howell, on Nov. 14. HOWELL – In an effort to carry on the life’s work of his late father Herbert C. Kraft, John T. Kraft educates the public about the Lenape Indians, who were the first people to inhabit New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Delaware.
On Nov. 14, third-graders at the Griebling School received hands-on instruction about the Lenape Indians from Kraft during a program that was sponsored by the Griebling PTA as a way to enrich the school’s curriculum.
Kraft is the director of Lenape Lifeways. He is an archaeologist and educator who has presented thousands of programs on the Lenape, or Delaware Indians, of New Jersey. He has helped discover and excavate Lenape villages and artifacts, and has added much new information about their family life, dwellings, diet, spiritual beliefs and technology, according to information on the Internet Web site lenapelifeways.org.
Griebling School students (l-r) Casey Beres, Kayla Olden, Jared Nicastro and Meaghan Fogarty examine artifacts from the Lenape Indians during a presentation by John T. Kraft of Lenape Lifeways. The presentation focused on everyday activities and the roles of men, women and children in the Lenape community. Kraft’s father, Herbert C. Kraft, was a noted northeastern prehistorian and expert on the Lenape. At the time of his death in 2000, Kraft was emeritus professor of anthropology at Seton Hall University and director of the university’s Archeological Research Center and Museum, according to anthrosource.net.
According to Griebling PTA representative Erica Salzano, the children will be studying the Lenape Indians and the presentation will add to what they will be learning. The fact that it was presented before Thanksgiving was an added bonus, she said.
During Kraft’s program the pupils learned about the Lenape lifestyle through pictures and visual aids such as traditional Lenape clothing, masks, musical instruments, tools and cooking utensils.
Kraft served as a visual aid himself, dressed in deer skin leggings, moccasins, and a cloth shirt with metal arm bands. He said looking at the items would help the children to remember what they had learned.
“The one thing I would like for them to remember about this presentation is that not all Native Americans are the same. The Lenape Indians were a very unique group of people who lived 10,000 years ago, right in their own backyard,” Kraft said. “They are just starting to study about Native Americans and this is a good introduction for them.”
Devyn Salzano, 8, said she found the program to be “very interesting.” According to Devyn, learning how the Lenape Indians lived was fascinating, but what was even more mind boggling was to find out that the deer skin they used for clothing was treated with the brains of the animal to make the fabric soft.
Michael Wagner, 8, said, “It was pretty cool to learn about their experience and their lifestyle.”
Robert Cavallero, 9, said the presentation will help him remember the things he will learn in class. Robert said, “I liked the presentation a lot. I learned how the Indians lived and how they hunted. I cannot wait to study this in class.”
The group of about 100 third-graders circled the six folding tables topped with items once used by the Lenape Indians.
After touching the items the students lined up with their classmates to return to their rooms, but before exiting they all screamed “Wa ni chi,” which means “thank you” in the Lenape native tongue.
They received an “A ni chi” from Kraft, telling the children they were welcome.
Kraft has published “The Indians of Lenapehoking,” an educational unit on the Indians of New Jersey and the surrounding region, and has illustrated “The Lenape or Delaware Indians” and other books.