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Historical Review of the White River in Indiana
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Delaware Indian Settlement: Waperminskink (present day Anderson)

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

On the afternoon of May 25, 1801, the banks of the White River would receive eight individuals traveling by canoe on their way to the Delaware Indian settlement known as Waperminskink. Two of these individuals were white, Moravian missionaries who were pursuing their goal of attempting to convert as many Delaware people to Christianity as possible. Their work began five days later, and the small settlement of Waperminskink would eventually transform into a mission station, complete with nine log houses which were about 14-16 square feet, five Indian huts, a church, a schoolhouse, a barn, stables, and gardens. By the year 1806, the missionaries would grow weary and fearful of their converts, who often opposed their teachings and drank too much whiskey for the missionaries' liking. They packed their bags and rode back to their home in Pennsylvania on horseback.

Images

Portrait of Chief Anderson

Forehead, Circle, Font, Symbol

Anderson Powwow - 2019

Sky, Cloud, Tree, Leisure

Map of lands ceded in treaties

Map, Font, Rectangle, Line

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Delaware people referred to themselves as the Lenape, and they referred to the White River in Indiana as the Wapahani River. They travelled from their homeland in the Delaware River Valley towards Indiana on their forced expansion westward, pushed by white European settlers. Their tribe was dwindling in numbers by the time they reached Indiana in the late 18th century due to the spread of disease and conflicts with Europeans. Settling in what was previously Miami Indian territory, the Lenape would settle between what is present day Muncie, IN, and just north of the present northern Marion County line.

Kiktuchwenind, also known as Chief Anderson, was one of the Native American chiefs that spoke for the tribe in the Treaty of Greenville. His youngest daughter, Mekinges, would marry a white trader named William Conner, who participated in the historic fur trade, aided by transport on the White River. The Treaty of St. Mary’s, signed in 1818, ceded most of the land in central Indiana to the Europeans, marking the end of the time that the Lenape would dwell in this part of the state.

Sources

Jackson, S.T. (2016). "If the river could talk: Moravians had a relatively short stay." The Herald Bulletin, https://www.heraldbulletin.com/community/if-the-river-could-talk-moravians-had-relatively-short-stay/article_60b2b1ca-56f3-5acb-a723-cf5ed936790d.html Accessed 20 Apr. 2021.

Ball State TCOM. (2014). Lenape on the Wapahani River. https://vimeo.com/268588410

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_William_Anderson

https://www.crazycrow.com/site/event/andersontown-powwow-and-indian-market/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_removals_in_Indiana

Additional Information